


This is War

by 12barblues



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Coming of Age, Confessions, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Justice, Kissing, Letters, Mistaken Identity, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Party, Sharing a Bed, coming to power, healing trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:02:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 35
Words: 153,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23009014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/12barblues/pseuds/12barblues
Summary: Written after episode 100.Persephone called Ares to her, it's time she honoured that and waged the war which was promised.Mostly Persephone POV with some Hades POV as well, although focus is more on her story.This is my first fic so if you have additional tags to suggest please let me know!
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Comments: 195
Kudos: 590





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this chapter is super long! I don't know if this is going to set a precedent for long chapters or this is fluke. Your guess is as good as mine. Thanks for reading!

Prologue

The rain was coming down hard. It was a strange storm for Olympus, they didn’t often get rain like this. If they got rain, it came in the form of a short but violent storm of thunder and lighting, a sure sign that Zeus and Hera were going at it again, although in what fashion, no one could say. Occasionally they got the light, misty rains that plagued the Underworld so often, when a brave little rain cloud decided to glide it’s way towards the city. No, this rain was different, and not just because it was lasting for hours longer than their typical rain falls. It moved in waves between steady downpour and cascading sheets so strong that some of Olympus’ residents feared they would wake up to flooding in the morning. 

Everyone buttoned up their houses. They locked their doors, they closed their curtains, they took the rain as a good excuse to stay home, watch a movie, go to bed early, forget about the outside world. Nobody watched the storm from their windows, nobody popped a nose out of their door. Which was a pity really, because everyone missed the strangest part; the little pink Goddess who was striding barefoot through the streets of Olympus, seemingly unphased by the fact that she was out walking in one of the worst rainfalls the mountain had seen in centuries. If anyone had looked out they might have noticed her scarlet eyes. If anyone had looked out they might have seen the red vines that were mixed in with her long pink hair, which somehow, despite the rain, flowed out behind her as she walked. They even might have noticed that perhaps the little Goddess was not as little as they all once thought, she was mighty and staggering

Persephone wasn’t bothered by the rain, in fact she welcomed it. Each blessed droplet that landed on her felt cleansing, and strengthened her resolve as she headed to her destination. She hadn’t felt so clean since she moved here. The rain felt warm against her skin, which was also strange. A small part of her brain noted that warm rains were usually reserved for August, not March, and perhaps it was her skin that was hot, not the rain. The rest of her brain though was singularly focused on the task at hand. She didn’t want to fly there either, somehow walking felt more appropriate. Each step she took became a declaration in itself, another affirmation of the campaign she had chosen. 

Eventually she reached the house. She lifted her arms to knock on the door, and then stopped abruptly. _Oh no_ , she thought. _What if he doesn’t open the door?_ For the first time that night, something was interrupting her resolve. The scarlet colour left her eyes, and little green bulbs began sprouting at the end of the red vines in her hair. _What if one of the kids gets it? Or worse, what if…?_ Something stronger took over her, pushing the thoughts from her mind. The scarlet colour returned to her eyes and she knocked on the door. After 30 seconds or so Eros opened the door. The little voice of doubt in her mind breathed a sigh of relief.

“Persephone? What are you doing here? It’s after midnight” he said while rubbing a sleepy eye. She had clearly woken him up. He was wearing pajama pants but no shirt, and his normally tidy curly hair was a wild mess. His eyes widened when he finally realized what he was looking at, chasing away the last bit of drowsiness. “What the hell is going on?” he asked, concern clear in his voice.

“I need to talk to your dad” she said. If Eros’ face was confused before, it was completely shocked now.

“Wh-what?” he stuttered. “Listen, get out of the rain, let’s talk a-” but he never got to finish, because as Eros pulled Persephone into the house, Ares had rounded the corner to see what was going on.

“Hello Kore” he said. There was no hint of sleep in his voice, in fact he sounded practically unphased by her sudden appearance at his front door in the middle of the night.

“Did you really come back from the mortal realm because of me?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer. Ares nodded.

“You called, I answered, that’s how it works” he said.

“Good” she said. “Because I’m ready for that war now.”

There was silence in the house. Persephone watched Ares expectantly, Eros was too confused, and a little too scared to interrupt, and Ares expression was unreadable. Then a wide smile erupted on Ares’ face. It was a smile that might have scared Persephone in the past, but right now it was exactly what she wanted to see. 

“Oh Bringer of Death” he practically sang, “this is going to be so much fun!”

Chapter 1 - Three days ago

After her “boundaries” discussion Hades on Monday and the blow up with Apollo on Tuesday, Persephone had had just about enough drama for a lifetime. The last week and a half had been absolutely ridiculous. She was in Olympus to study, and seeing as she got a B on her last test, she clearly wasn’t doing that. What she needed to do was forget about everything that had happened and focus on school. Sure, seeing Hades at her internship might be a little difficult, but you know what would help that? Work. Doing her job that she was hired to do. As long she focused on school and work, she was sure no more drama could touch her. 

She went to class Wednesday morning. News that Peter had had his eye returned to him had gotten around. There still seemed to be an air of general mistrust still hovering around her from her classmates, but the outright hostility was gone. It wasn’t great, but it was a start. If things continued like this, by Monday Persephone could bring in a batch of her irresistible brownies and all might be forgiven. 

She took more notes than anyone during that day’s lecture, scribbling them furiously in her notebook. She opted to leave her laptop at home, it didn’t travel well, and a chunk of the case fell off the last time she brought it to the University. Everytime any thought popped into her head that might stray her focus away, she began seeing if she could dictate the lecture word for word. Anything to keep her mind here instead of… well… elsewhere.

After the lecture ended she packed up her stuff and headed for the door, but her professor stopped her.

“Persephone, can I speak with you a minute?” he called. Persephone stopped dead in her tracks. Oh no she thought as she turned and head towards his desk. _He knows, he knows everything! No, wait, calm down, you have no idea what he knows just take a deep breath and -_ “You weren’t in class yesterday” he said. Persephone had expected an accusatory tone, but his was full of concern. She nodded, and bit her lip while she thought of a lie. There was no way she was going to tell him why she really wasn’t in class.

“I, um, think I got food poisoning” she said. “I was throwing up all morning, and then after that-”

“Say no more” he said. “I have been there and done that, you don’t need to explain any further.” He offered her an encouraging smile, and it somehow made her feel a bit better. “Look, I’ve you’re having a hard time with things, you know-”

“Oh no, I’m fine” she said, maybe a little too quickly.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to…” he stuttered. Clearly as a biochemistry theory professor, this part of teaching doesn’t come so easily. “I just mean that… Look, I’ve seen it time and time again where students who excel in school suddenly come to university and they don’t do as well. And for some people that can be really tough.” He paused and looked at her blank expression. “I’m not saying that’s you” he said, back tracking a little. “But just know if you are having a hard time with things, there are resources that are available to you. I mean, you can talk to me, or the university has counselors you can talk to…” He trailed off, and Persephone figured he had no idea what to say next.

“Thank you” she said. “I really appreciate it.” She smiled at him, a real, warm smile. She didn’t know what she expected from this conversation, but it wasn’t this, and knowing there was someone looking out for her here made her feel great. “Um, I have to get going” she said, really not sure how to end this conversation. “I’m going to be late for work.” She waved awkwardly, and then scurried out of the classroom. 

She took the train into the Underworld, doing the reading from one of her textbooks to kill time. She rather liked the train. There was a strange comfort to be surrounded by people and yet having each one them being entirely alone. Was this what Hades was talking about when he spoke of her melancholic nature? _Gah, no Hades thoughts, only studying_ , she thought, and then refocused on her reading with a new intensity.

It was past lunch time when she arrived at Tower 1, so she hoped that meant that Hades was situated in his office, and she wouldn’t need to have any awkward encounters with him. She walked into the elevator and smiled at the little red sprite who worked as an elevator attendant. “Floor 96 please” said Persophone, and the sprite beat her little wings to fly all the way to the button for the 96th floor. The elevator doors were almost closed when a familiar voice made Persephone’s heart do a somersault.

“Hold the door please!” called the King of the Underworld.

Damn thought Persephone. So close.

Hades rushed into the elevator and the doors quickly closed behind him. He didn’t need to say anything to the sprite, who automatically flew up to the floor 99 button. He didn’t notice Persephone at first. He seemed distracted, and slightly out of breath, which couldn’t just be from his run to the elevator. His hair was a little messier than usual, like it had been ruffled by the wind, but it still looked just as perfect as - 

_Stop it._

“Oh! Hi” he said when he finally noticed she was there. He blushed a deep navy, although Persephone didn’t know if it was because he didn’t notice her or because he was anticipating a long and awkward elevator ride.

“Hi” she said shyly. She avoided looking at him. She really did not need to go on another internal soliloquy about his hair.

“Are you just getting in?” he asked, his tone casual.

“Yeah, I had class this morning” she replied.

“Oh” he said simply, and then stayed silent.

 _I hate small talk_ , she thought. _This is awful, if I didn’t need the money from the internship I would talk to Hera, but I do, and Sweet Gaia, could this elevator move any slower?_

“Oh!” he exclaimed suddenly, shocking her out of her internal monologue. “I have something to show you!” Persephone watched curiously as he rummaged through his pocket. “I can’t believe I forgot to text you this…” Persephone’s heart gave a little leap when he mentioned texting her. Even if he forgot, he still thought he should, meaning they still have a texting relationship. _Gods, that should not make me this happy._ Hades scrolled through his phone until he found what he was looking for. “Take a look at the latest addition to the pack” he said and showed Persephone a picture of the cutest little pup she had ever seen.

“Oh my goooooods” cooed Persephone, grabbing Hades’ phone instinctively to get a closer look.

“She is the sweetest thing” said Hades.

“What’s her name?” she asked, note taking her eyes off the picture. She had beautiful honey coloured fur, and big brown eyes that just made your heart melt. It took a moment to realize that Hades wasn’t answering her. She looked up to see he was blushing again. “What?” she asked.

“Her name’s Pomelia” he admitted, and Persephone’s heart gave another leap of joy. 

“Hades…” she said, looking at him adoringly. He stared back at her, with a gaze that made her feel like she was the only person in the whole world. She didn’t know what else to say. It was the sweetest things she had ever heard, she wanted to hold his hand and kiss is dumb face but how was she supposed to say that. They were supposed to be putting between them, then he goes and does pulls this adorable crap, how was she supposed to deal with that?

The elevator dinged, and the door opened, and Persephone lept to the other side of the elevator like she had been electrocuted. They were on floor 78, and a river nymph (not Minthe) walked in, staring at her phone, and positioned herself between Hades and Persephone without even looking up. 

What was wrong with her? Why did she feel like she just got caught doing something wrong? She looked over at Hades, who also looked like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. In a weird way seeing that expression on his face made her feel better, at least this wasn’t all in her head. He noticed her looking at him and gave her a sheepish grin. Persephone let out a small giggle. How ridiculous they were being! His smile turned genuine at the sound of her giggle. Now they were two dorks, giggling at each other in an elevator. The river still didn’t look up.

The elevator dinged when they got to floor 96. “This is me” said Persephone. “See you later Mr. Hades!”

“See you later Kore k- Kore” he said as the elevator doors closed. 

_Did he really just stutter?_ She wondered as she made her way to the library. _Or did he…?_ Her phone buzzed. 

**Hades, King of the Underworld: I almost just called you Kore-cob**

**Persephone: And you were almost 100% scoundrel**

She should have been annoyed that he nearly called her an embarrassing nickname at work, but instead she wore a goofy grin all the way to the library.

She met Hermes in the library, who was looking distressed reading a mortal’s scroll, and was surrounded by many others. “Finally! My saviour! I’m drowning in scrolls” he cried when he saw her. She giggled at his drama. 

“Sergeant cutey, reporting for duty!” she said. “So what exactly am I doing here?” she asked.

“So you have a scroll, and you have a file” said Hermes. “You read the scroll, and fill out all the requested information in the file.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad” said Persephone. “What’s the big drama?”

“These mortal’s lives are sooo boring!” exclaimed Hermes. He flew over to her and leaned into her shoulder. “Save me Goddess of Spring, you’re my only hope!” he said. Persephone burst into laughter. Hermes was such a drama king. Without another word she picked up a scroll, picked up a blank file, and sat herself at one of the empty desks and started to read.

Persephone understood why some people might find this boring or tedious, but she found it fascinating. She loved reading about the mortal’s lives. She loved reading about their petty squabbles and meaningless worries just as much as she loved reading about their simple joys and the loves of their life. It reminded her of being back in the mortal realm with mama. She got so wrapped in reading their stories she even accidentally stayed late, not noticing the time until it was an hour passed when she was supposed to leave.

She rushed home after that, said hello to Artemis on her way in, heated up some leftover vegetarian lasagna for dinner, and then went to her room to study. She studied late into the night, until she almost fell asleep at her desk. She went to bed, thinking that while there might have been a few awkward moments, compared to the last week, it had been a really good day.

Thursday passed without event. She had a full day of classes, and when she wasn’t in class she was in the library studying. Some of her classmates even smiled at her, albeit awkwardly. It gave her hope. Again, she went home and spent most of her night studying, Artemis comments she hadn’t realized how big of a nerd she was. Before she went to be she thought that these past two days were how her life in Olympus were supposed to go. Maybe, just maybe, things were actually starting to become normal.

Persephone was feeling so good about things when she woke up Friday morning. She had totally forgotten about what was happening on Friday, until she was making herself some breakfast, and Artemis asked her what she was making for dinner for movie night.

Persephone’s happiness shattered in an instant.

“R-right, I forgot about that” said Presephone. She hid her face from Artemis so she couldn’t see the fear that was starting to creep in behind her eyes. “Well, I’m working all day today so I’ll stop by the market on my way home.”

“Working? I thought you were off today” said Artemis.

“I’m off from school, but I’ve been scheduled for a regular 9-5 down in the Underworld” she said. Artemis shuddered.

“I still hate that you’re working down there” she said.

“It’s actually really fun!” said Persephone to a very sceptical looking Artemis. “I get to read about all these mortal’s stories, hang out with Hermes all day, I mean sometimes Thanatos is there, and he’s a bit of a downer, but he’s not there too often.”

“Meh, to each their own I guess” said Artemis.

Persephone finished getting ready work and headed out. That morning she spent her entire train ride trying to put the evening out of her mind, but no matter how hard she tried Apollo’s golden eyes kept creeping into her vision. One part of her was saying that they had a deal, but had they really actually made a deal? And even if they did, did she trust Apollo not to break it? 

Maybe if she had another person there as a buffer, but Hermes wasn’t supposed to come tonight. She had 8 hours to convince him to join them, so she would just need to dial up the charm.

She was early into work, so the elevator ride up to the library was a solitary one. Unfortunately Hermes wasn’t in the library with her that morning, it was just her and the shades. It was a little more difficult to get totally absorbed in her work, she kept looking up at the door to the library hoping Hermes would walk in so she could talk to him. Her wishes were granted shortly after lunch, although they came with an unexpected surprise.

When Hermes walked into the library he was accompanied by Hades. Peresphone’s heart gave a leap when she saw him. She was already such a nervous wreck she didn’t really want to risk an interaction with him, but she would just have to suck it up.

“Hello Persephone” he said cheerily as he came in. “I met Hermes on the beach and thought I would accompany him up here to pick up the shade files from you, save you a trip up to my office.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Persephone. That was so kind of him. But was he just doing that to avoid Persephone going up to his office? Was he trying to avoid being alone with her? Or was this an excuse to see her, since she wasn’t even planning on going to his office to deliver reports at all today? Was she overthinking this? 100%

She handed over the shade files over to him and he did a cursory flip through a few of them. “Hermes” he said with his nose still in one of the reports.

“Yeah boss?” said Hermes.

“I would like you to note that Persephone’s reports are typed instead of your usual chicken scratch” he said. “There’s colour coded highlights, there’s tabs.”

“There’s also an appendix in the back with graphs” offered Persephone.

“There’s an appendix in the back with graphs!” said Hades pointedly. “Need I say more?” He turned his back on them and threw his hands up in the air exasperated. “Need I. Say more.” With that, he left the library.

“You know you can stop sucking up to the boss any day now” said Hermes with slight annoyance.

“You know what? I don’t think I will” said Persephone, only half kidding. She let him get settled in first before she broached the topic of that evening. “Speaking of sucking up, I have a favour to ask you.”

“I know what you’re going to ask, and the answer is no” said Hermes without even looking up from the scroll he was reading. 

“What? How do you know what I’m going to ask you?” she said.

“You’re going to ask if I want to come over for movie night and the answer is no” he said. A small amount of panic began to set into Persephone, but she wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Besides how well Artemis took me being over the last time, I have a date” he said, but Persphone wasn’t buying it.

“You have a date?”

“Yup”

“With who?”

Silence.

“Okay, I don’t have a date, but Apollo’s been so moody lately, I just don’t want to deal with him!” he finally admitted. 

“How do you think I feel? Him and Artemis are going to be bickering all night, I just need a buffer!” She had prepared these lines carefully all morning, and technically it wasn’t a lie. “I will make whatever you want for dinner, please Hermes!” There was a long pause, and then finally Hermes spoke.

“Pizza”

“Pizza?” Persephone was a little surprised at his mundane request.

“Yeah, pizza, but like fancy homemade pizza, none of this delivery crap” he said.

“You got it!” said Persephone with joy in her heart.

After work Persephone went straight to the market to pick up everything she needed. If Hermes wanted pizza she was going to pull out all the stops. By the time the boys arrived, Artemis opened the door for them with almost uncontainable excitement. “Look at what my amazing roommate did!” she announced as she led them into the kitchen. Persephone smiled warmly at Hermes. She avoided eye contact with Apollo, mumbling a greeting. She could already tell he was not happy with the welcome. Artemis didn’t even notice. “Welcome to the build your own pizza bar!” she said, while motioning to the array of ingredients that were laid out on the kitchen counter. “Persephone, take them on a tour!”

“Well we begin over her with homemade pizza dough, obvs” said Persephone. She had rushed to get it all done and proofed, then to roll out the perfect pizza sized portions. “For sauces, we have regular tomato, spicy tomato, and pesto. I got not one, not two, but five different kinds of cheese for your pizza pleasure.”

“This is the best part!” said Artemis. 

“And finally, everyone’s favourite toppings” announced Persephone.

“She was texting me from the market to make sure she had everyone’s favourites, isn’t she the best?” said Artemis, throwing her arms around Persephone.

“I don’t know” said Apollo, and the joy Artemis’ excitement had brought Persephone faded away. “When you invite someone over for dinner you don’t expect assembly to be required.”  
“Don’t be ungrateful, Persephone put a lot of work into this” said Artemis to her brother. Thankfully Apollo didn’t argue after that. They all made their pizzas, Hermes especially having a blast at putting his together, and Persephone stuck them in the oven. Once they were done baking they headed into the living room, figuring they would eat and watch the movie at the same time.

Apollo plopped himself down in the middle of the couch, and then Hermes sat on his left. There was still one seat on the couch left. Persephone looked at it, and then looked over to see Apollo staring at her, waiting to see what she’d do next.

“I think I’ll sit on the floor” she said.

“What?” said Apollo, sounding much too upset than he should be. “Why would sit on the floor when there’s a perfectly good seat right here?” 

“I just like the floor” she said simply.

“That’s so fucking stupid” he said.

“Would you calm your ass down?” said Artemis as she sat in the empty seat next to her brother. “Gods, you are being so testy tonight?” Apollo gave Persephone a dark look that shot a lighting bolt of fear down her spine, but he didn’t say anything further. Persephone took a deep breath to try and calm herself, and began to nibble on her pizza.

After that, they almost got through the night without incident.

Almost.

The movie was almost over. Persephone was struggling to keep her eyes open, and Artemis had lost the battle, softly snoring from her side of the couch. Apollo was scrolling through his phone.

“Woah, dude, be careful with that stuff” said Hermes suddenly. Persephone looked over, it seemed Hermes had accidently seen something on Apollo’s phone.

“What? Oh right, I forgot she sent me those” said Apollo nonchalantly. The panic was beginning to creep back into Persephone. Was he talking about what she thought he was talking about? But it couldn’t have been here, there would have been a different reaction from Hermes.

“Listen man, you can’t be so casual about that stuff, that’s for your eyes and your eyes only, I’m sure that nymph doesn’t want me seeing her like that” said Hermes. Apollo shrugged and put away his phone.

“I don’t know man, I think people who take pictures like that are the ones that need to be more careful, it’s a big risk to have yourself exposed like that on camera” said Apollo. Even though Persephone was intentionally looking away, she could tell Apollo was looking at her. 

“Exactly! Which is why you shouldn’t go around accidently showing people that shit” replied Hermes.

“You got pictures like that of you running around, it’s only a matter of time before they get out, and I think those people deserve what’s coming to them when-”

“I’m going to bed!” said Persephone. She spoke so suddenly that Artemis was shocked out of sleep, and Hermes turned around like he forgot she was there. Apollo just sneered at her, and Persephone felt like there was something trying to crawl its way out of her.

“But the movie’s almost over, stay” said Apollo, with a voice sickly sweet it made Persephone think of rotted fruit covered in honey.

“Let her go to bed” mumbled Artemis, cuddling back into the couch and closing her eyes again. Persephone didn’t wait for any further conversation, she quickly got up and left the room. She changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth and then lay down in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

All the fear she had felt earlier was changing, shifting into something else.

_He threatened me_

A strange sensation began to manifest itself in her stomach, like a fire deep within her, hot and dancing around her insides.

_Nobody threatens me._

It was rage, and it felt like a missing piece of her had just been returned.

She waited until she heard the boys leave, and then for Artemis to actually go to bed. She didn’t change out of her pajamas, she didn’t even put on shoes. She left her bedroom, left her apartment, and began walking out into the rain.


	2. Chapter 2

“So the other day when I asked you if you needed me to kill anyone for you, the answer was actually yes.”

It was nearly 2 in the morning now, and Persephone, Eros, and Ares were sitting at the kitchen table. Persephone had just finished recounting every detail of every encounter she had had with Apollo, including what had just happened that prompted her to come here. She realized as she was speaking that this was the first time she had put any of this into words really, since when she “told” Eros, she showed him, she didn’t tell him. Eros was such a good friend, he kept reminding her that she wasn’t obligated to share anything she wasn’t comfortable with, but she needed to do this, it was time.

“I don’t want you to kill him” said Persephone. 

“Then why am I here? You know that’s what I’m good at” said Ares, exasperated.

“Dad, just because there isn’t murder, doesn’t mean this isn’t a war” said Eros. “This may be a war that takes a little more tact than you’re used to, but Persephone is still going to need our help -”

“Our help?” interrupted Persephone. The words made her feel a flutter of jouy. Eros looked a little shy, a look he didn’t often wear.

“Well, I mean, I assumed... but you don’t…” stuttered Eros, but Persephone silenced him by reaching out to take his hands in hers.

“Eros, I couldn’t do this without you” she said. Eros’ smile was full of warmth and love. “You’ve been here for me since the beginning, since before I even knew I needed help.”

“Alright, enough with the mushy shit, back to the revenge” said Ares. Persephone giggled, and then her giggle turned into a big yawn. For the first time all night she actually felt tired.

“No, time for bed” said Eros. “We’ll reconvene in the morning big guy.” He patted his dad on the shoulder as he walked by. Persephone followed, but not before she gave Ares a small peck on the cheek. The two of them went off to Eros’ bedroom, and Persephone fell into the most restful sleep she had had in a very long time.

She woke the next morning feeling both nervous and excited. For a long time she had felt basically frozen, trapped by her own fear. But there was movement, there was action, there was a direction to go in that would bring her closure in one way or another. 

Persephone made sure to send a quick text to Artemis telling her she had gotten up early and went over to Eros’ for breakfast. _Not technically a lie_ , she thought. Eros was not far behind her getting up, and when the two of them went back into the kitchen they found Ares still sitting at the kitchen table, eyes an even deeper colour than they normally were. Persephone shook her head at him as she began searching through cupboards for breakfast supplies.

“Perse, you don’t have to-” Eros started, but Peresphone cut him off.

“Please, let me cook” she said. “It’ll make me feel better.” He shook his head but didn’t argue with her. 

“So, dad, did you go to bed last night?” asked Eros. The other kids were starting to get up as well and beginning to make their way into the kitchen.

“Sleep is for the weak” grumbled Ares. Persephone giggled while Eros sighed. 

“Your father has two modes baby bear” said Aphordite, appearing from somewhere in the house. “Sleep is for the weak, and sleep is for the week.” It took Persephone a moment, then it finally landed.

“Oh, I get it, like weak and week” she said. Aphrodite shot her deadly look, as if just noticing she was there.

“What are you doing here?” she said. It was less of a question and more of an accusation. Persephone was still terrified of Aphrodite.

“Cinnamon pancakes?” she squeaked. After a pause that felt like an eternity, Aphrodite's expression softened.

“Carry on” she said, and then sat herself next to the brooding Ares. 

The cinnamon pancakes were a huge hit that morning. She could barely keep up with the demand of the little monsters at some points, so Eros jumped into help, cooking up some bacon to keep them at bay. Eros kept apologizing for his family but Persephone really didn’t mind. She loved this. Taking care of people like this brought her true joy, especially when she could take care of people in the form of serving them delicious pancakes.

Eventually the kitchen began to empty out, the older kids going to school (Agape being the de facto chaperone of that group), and Aphrodite taking the younger ones to day care. Only Ares, Eros, and Persephone were left, seated around the kitchen table.

“So, did your insomnia yield anything useful?” asked Eros.

“Nothing that didn’t involve murder or severe disfiguration” grumbled Ares. “Remind me again why I can’t just rip his eyeballs out of his skull?” Persephone looked away from him, uncomfortable. It was true that last night she had been filled with a kind of rage that she had never felt before, and if she was being honest with herself, it scared her how much she liked it. But now it was the cold light of morning, and she had to come back face to face with reality. 

“Because that’s not how I do things” she said to him. “Listen, don’t get me wrong, there’s a part of me… a big part of me… that wants to tear him limb from limb… but…” She paused. Gods, she didn’t realize how hard this would be to put into words. “If I did that, I’d be paying for violence with violence… and that has its place!” Persephone quickly followed up when she saw Ares’ face. After all, violence was kind of his whole thing. “But the idea of it just sickens me, and I would be allowing him to change me in a fundamental way, and I won’t let him take that from me too.” 

Neither Ares nor Eros spoke for a while after Persephone said her piece. The silence made Persephone’s head start to spin with wild thoughts, but thankfully Ares spoke before she could get too worked up.

“I understand” he said. “I guess… this is going to be a lot more complicated than I thought.”

“Told you” said Eros softly. Ares shot him a dirty look but other than that ignored the comment.

“Leave this with me, I promise to come up with a plan that utterly destroys him, but also does not compromise your integrity” said Ares. Persephone reached across the table to cup his cheek in here hand.

“Thank you” she said. Her eyes started to brim with tears, but she hastily fought them back. She was tired of being a cry baby. “So, what should the two of us do today then?” she asked Eros, turning away from Ares.

“Well I was thinking a little shopping, maybe grab some lunch, and then head to the movie theatre downtown” said Eros.

“Anything good playing?” she asked.

“Only the best movie musical of all time, Mamma Mia” he said.

“Never seen it” she stated. Eros gave a dramatic gasp, a mix of shock and over the top offense.

“Well in that case, you don’t have a choice, we’re 100% going to see Mamma Mia” he said.

“Sounds good to me” she replied, and it really did. She was so happy at the fact that despite all of this drama, she could still look forward to a normal day out with her friend. 

Shopping was fun. Eros bought himself a bunch of new sweaters, Peresphone helping him pick out the softest ones. Persephone didn’t want to buy anything, she was saving her money after all. There were a few items that Eros insisted she try on, and after much arguing, she let him buy her 1 thing; a silver tea length dress with a tight bodice and a flowing skirt. A lot of the dresses she had were tight against her hips, and while she loved them, she was glad for something that flowed.

Over lunch Persephone filled Eros in on everything that had happened Hades. She realized in all the ridiculousness with Apollo she hadn’t spoken to him about her other drama.

“Can I say something controversial for a love god?” said Eros. Persephone was slightly nervous about what he would say next. “I totally agree with you for putting in those boundaries.”

“Really?” said Persephone, perking up.

“Oh ya” he said. “First off, you’re totally right about the ‘other woman’ thing, you don’t need even the slightest hint of that drama in your world.”

“Right?” she said, relieved to have his support.

“Second of all, you’re in a very unique time in your life right now. You’re off at university, you’re on your own for the first time, you’re coming into your powers… you’re really discovering who you are. And it’s fairly clear to me listening to you now that you don’t just have a crush on Hades, you have a _connection_ , am I right?”

Persephone nodded vigorously.

“It’s easy to lose yourself in something like that, which can be beautiful… but in this key stage of your life…” He trailed off, but Persephone knew what he meant. “I’m just really glad you’re giving yourself space to figure out what you want… both about Hades and about TGOEM…” Persephone gave him a pointed look.

“Eros…” she said with a warning tone. He threw his hands up defensively.

“I know we’re not talking about TGOEM, I’m just saying” he said, and then gave her a knowing smile. “Alright, c’mon, we’re going to be late for the movie.”

Persephone loved the movie, and she could understand why Eros loved it too. It was full of love, and joy, and excitement. It also had unexpected choices, but that were right for the people involved. And the music was so much fun, although there were a few songs that hit very close to home for Persephone. During the “Lay All Your Love” on me scene, Persephone couldn’t stop thinking about her and Hades, and then she started thinking about Hades coming out of the ocean in a bathing suit, and then Persephone was very happy she was in a dark theatre so Eros couldn’t see her blush. The blue flowers that appeared on in hair did not escape him though, which prompted a teasing nudge.

It was a nice evening by the time the movie let out, so Persephone and Eros decided to walk home. To Persephone’s dismay, this gave Eros the opportunity to tease her about the other scene that made her turn colours.

“I cannot believe I didn’t think of that sooner” he said with glee.

“Shut up” she said to him.

“I mean it’s so perfect, the original song is even an older man and a younger woman” he said.

“You told me” she said. He zipped around so instead of walking he was floating in front of her, floating backwards so he could face her. Then he started to sing.

“You’re so hot, teasing me, so _I’m_ blue, but I can’t take a chance on a kid like you, that’s something I wouldn’t do!” Persephone gave him a look that would have made Leo cower in fear, but it was clear the Persephone’s mortification was only fueling Eros’ teasing. He kept singing. “There’s that look, in your eye, I can read in your face that your feelings are driving you wild, but girl you’re only a child!” He landed back on his feet and swept her up into his arms, leading her into a dance. “Well I can dance with you honey, if you think it’s funny, does your mother know that you’re out! Sing with me!” Persephone sighed, while embarrassed, she was actually having fun.

“I can chat with you baby, flirt a little maybe, but does your mother know that you’re out” she sang. Eros let her go and looked at her with delighted shock.

“You have such a pretty voice!” he said. They were almost at the house now. “You know what? We should do karaoke!”

“What? No!” said Persephone. No way was she singing in front of other people.

“Why not?” said Eros, a pout forming on his lips.

“I don’t know any of this new fangled music you kids listen to” she said, which wasn’t a lie. Mama never let her listen to Olympus pop music in the Mortal Realm. 

“Excuse me grandma!” said Eros. They were just coming up to the front door of the house. “I didn’t realize you were a million years old, maybe you and Hades don’t have as big of an age difference as we thought.”

The door opened suddenly then, and Ares was standing in the doorway, looking practitally manic.

“You are so loud” he said.  
“You alright there creep show?” asked Eros sarcastically.

“Just get inside” he said, and the two of them hurried in. “So I spent hours today trying to come up with a plan, but everything I came up was not, what’s the word you used? _Tactful_ ” said Ares. “And then I had a breakthrough, and I remembered that I’m the dumb one.” The words shocked Persephone, but Eros didn’t miss a beat.

“Well, I’m glad you’ve finally come to realize it after all these years” said Eros.

“Shut up you, that’s not exactly what I meant, but whatever. The point is, I called the smart one” said Ares. _Wait, what was he talking about?_ Ares continued. “I filled her on everything and she is totally on board, this is gonna rock!” Persephone and Eros leaned around Ares to peer down the hall towards the kitchen. Athena was sitting at the kitchen table, waving at them, a cheery smile on her face.

“You did what?” said Eros to his father, clearly angry.

“What? This is perfect! I don’t understand why you’re mad” replied Ares.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” said Eros.

“Okay, this is a good thing, you get that, right?” said Ares.

“First of all, this is not your information to share…”

Persephone didn’t hear anything else from their argument. Her heart began to race, the rock in her stomach was back again, there was ringing in her ears. _Athena knows. Athena knows. And if Athena knows, TGOEM knows. And if TGOEM knows, mama knows. Everything’s over. Everything’s over. Everything’s -_

“Hi”

Persephone’s world snapped back into focus. Athena was standing in front of her with a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s talk outside for a moment” she said. Persephone nodded and let Athena lead her out of the chaotic house. The two of them seatted themselves on the front step, Persephone still not being able to look at Athena.

“I’m really sorry about this” said Athena. “Ares had no right to share that with me. He means well, but he can be… well you know.” Athena paused, but Persephone didn’t say anything, she couldn’t say anything. “If you’re afraid I’m going to tell TGOEM, I’m not going to, that is in no way my place.” Persephone looked over at Athena, shocked that she was planning to keep the secret. “Listen, you need to be prepared that the others will find out at some point” continued Athena, and another jolt of fear ran through Persephone. “I, uh, I don’t know what will happen then, I mean I could see it going a few ways, I mean Hestia could… never mind, that’s not the point I’m trying to make.” Athena had a kind expression on her face, something that Persephone did not expect. “My point is, no matter what happens, at all, with this, with TGOEM, with anything, you’re not going to lose us.” The sudden realization of Athena’s words made Persephone’s eyes begin to brim with tears. Athena took her hands. “We’re family Kore, and we’ll always be family, TGOEM or not.” Persephone couldn’t hold back the tears now, they fell hot and fast down her face. “Oh, come here” said Athena and pulled Persephone into a hug. “I’ve got your back Kore-Cob, we’re going to get through this.” Persephone allowed Athena to hold her for a time, her brain washing away her initial fears, her body letting go of the tension it was holding. After a few moments, new worries popped into her mind, but thankfully she was calm enough to use words.

“There’s something else I don’t get” she said, pulling away from Athena.

“What?” asked Athena.

“If we go up against Apollo, as a result we’re going to be going up against Zeus” said Persephone.

“Makes sense” said Athena, very matter-of-factly.

“And Apollo is one of Zeus’ favourites” said Persphone. “So it’s safe to say he’s probably going to side with Apollo”

“It’s a distinct possibility.”

“Yes” said Persephone. “And you’re one of Zeus’ favourites…” Persephone didn’t quite know how to finish the sentence, but Athena nodded knowingly.

“Do you know why Apollo is one of Zeus’ favourites?” Persephone shook her head. “He looks at Apollo and sees everything that Zeus perceives as good about himself. He sees a handsome, hard working Olympian. He doesn’t want to see anything bad about him, because it would remind him of all the bad things about himself.

“Now the reason why I’m one of Zeus’ favourites is because of what he doesn’t see when he looks at me. He doesn’t see the wife he hurt, he doesn’t see the mistress he cheated with…” She paused. “He doesn’t see the woman he raped.” The words felt heavy in the air. Persephone wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. Thankfully, Athena started speaking again. “My point is, Zeus likes to see only what he wants to see. While I appreciate my father’s favour, I have no illusions about what kind of man he is, and I have no problems standing against him if it means standing up for what’s right.” 

“Thank you Athena, from the bottom of my heart, thank you” said Persphone. She stood up, thinking they should probably check on Eros and Ares to make sure there was no bloodshed. Athena took her hand and pulled on it, forcing Persephone to sit back down.

“Before we go back in there, I need to warn you” said Athena. “The road you’re about to walk is not an easy one. You’re going to have to come face to face with some things that are going to be really difficult for you, and then only thing I can guarantee you is that it’s going to hurt. You have to promise that if we do this, you can never let anyone, including yourself, see you as a victim. You do that, nothing and no one can stop you.”

“I promise” said Persephone.

“Good, now let’s go back inside to make sure our partners in crime haven’t killed each other” she said with a smile. Eros and Ares were still yelling at each other when the two women walked back into the house. “Oi!” shouted Athena. They stopped shouting and turned to look at them. “Save that fighting spirit boys, you’re going to need it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For your viewing/listening pleasure
> 
> "Lay All Your Love On Me" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxn9hbJh3uc
> 
> "Does Your Mother Know" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkL7Fkigfn8


	3. Chapter 3

Athena was an early to bed, early to rise kind of person, so they decided it was best to get a fresh start on the plan Sunday morning. Athena offered up her house as home base, since Eros’ and Ares’ place was a bit overcrowded. The three of them showed up at Athena’s place bright and early Sunday morning, bearing coffee and donuts, ready to work.

Persephone had heard tell of Athena’s brilliant strategic mind, although she had never seen her work in person, and she was in awe. They started by working out the desired outcome of this campaign, and then reverse engineered the entire process until it brought them to what the first step had to be. From there, they started to craft flow charts of all the possible outcomes that action could lead to, and then all the possible outcomes of those possible outcomes, and so on and so forth until they had mapped out almost anything that could happen.

Then, they started creating profiles of all the key players in the conflict, and all the players that could potentially get involved. After a lot of deliberation they decided not to tell Artemis. As much they knew Artemis loved Persephone, this was her brother they were talking about. That’s a hard thing to hear about your brother. Even Athena didn’t know how she would react to that, and Persephone agreed it was better to be safe than sorry.

It was a long day, and after 3 coffee runs, much debating, and countless craft supplies, one of them finally snapped.

"Stop, just stop" said Ares, interrupting Athena, his head in his hands. "We are talking about a permutation of a permutation of a permutation of a permutation and it's giving me a headache!"

"Dial down the drama there, pops" said Eros.

“No, no, he’s right” said Athena. She had gotten progressively more manic throughout the day, and Persephone wasn’t totally sure if it was because of all the coffee she had been drinking or the fact that this was what she was made for. “We need to go back to step one, step one is critical, without step one there’s not step… well… anything!”

“Step one: we go and tell Zeus what happened to me” said Persephone.

“And in accordance with Olympus law, Zeus has 48 hours to decide whether or not he’s going to call a trial” continued Eros. They had been through this already.

“And we need Zeus to call a trial, we can’t afford to go back a second time, not with those pictures as a factor” said Ares. Persephone lowered her head, still embarrassed that those pictures even existed. _Things would be so much easier if I hadn’t-_

“Now Zeus isn’t going to want to call a trial” said Athena, interrupting Persephone’s thoughts. “Think about it, calling a trial would mean Zeus is admitting that there’s wrong doing. Why would he want to do that to his second favourite Olympian on the word of… well…”

“Me?” offered Persephone.

“I was going to say because it’s the right thing to do, but I forgot who we were talking about for a second” said Eros glumly.

“A) It would make a big old mess, which Zeus hates,” continued Athena. She was beginning to pace now, really ramping herself up. “B) It would cause people to doubt his ability to choose Olypmians, and C) this might bring to light some of his own indiscretions.”

“That’s a lot of reasons not to have a trial” said Persephone, starting to feel defeat weigh on her.

“We just need to give him a really good reason to have a trial” said Ares. “And seeing as you’re going to walk in there flanked by the two gods of war-”

“And me!” pipped in Eros.

“That’s a pretty good incentive” finished Ares.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be enough though” said Athena. She was biting her lip and staring off into space. Persephone hoped that meant she was going to have a brain wave soon. “You know what would be really helpful, if we had one of the Six on our side. Zeus can, and has, ignored each one of us, but he can’t ignore a Traitor, not without serious repercussions.”

Eros gave Persephone a pointed look, and she refused to meet his gaze. She knew what he was thinking but she didn't want to go there. She decided to start on the other side of it.

"Not mama, I mean Demeter" she said. "If she found out she would just drag me right back to the mortal realm." She paused a moment and thought. "I know Hestia has always been there for me but I'm afraid she'd end up telling her."

"And while I love Hestia, she's really not built for something like this" said Athena. Eros' gaze had not let up and Persephone was still desperately trying to ignore him. She continued on.

"What about Hera? She's been supportive of me" she offered. Athena frowned at that to Persephone's disappointment.

"While Hera and Zeus will fight like cats and dogs in private, public is a different thing" said Athena. "The last time Hera went against Zeus publicly it did not end well for her."

"And I hate to say this, but Zeus is too used to dismissing her" added Ares.

There was silence next as they all stared at Persephone, waiting for her to speak. Eros' could have bore a hole into her head with the intensity of his stare. Persephone squirmed under the pressure. She didn't want to say it, she really didn't want to say it.

"Poseidon?" she squeaked.

"Why are you not saying the obvious one?" said Eros. When she didn't answer he sighed. "Hades, we should be asking Hades!"

"Hades!" echoed Athena, her eyes bright, a wide smile on her face. "Ooh ooh, Ares!" She was almost dancing, she was so excited. "Imagine Persephone walking into Zeus' office flanked by the two of us. It's concerning, but not dangerous. Now, imagine Hades walking into Zeus' office with us…"

"Holy shit" said Ares, his eyes now wide.

"I know! I know!" sung Athena. "Even the prospect of an implication of a hint to a threat of war between Olympus and the Underworld and Zeus will do anything we want."

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that” said Persephone quietly.

“It’s fine, we’re not actually threatening war, it’s all just head games” said Athena.

“No, I mean about Hades” replied Persephone. 

“What do you mean?” said Athena. “He wrote you a 10,000 Drachma check for TGOEM, I’m sure he’ll help you with this too.”

“I’m sorry, he did what now?” exclaimed Eros. “You neglected to mention that in our little catch up yesterday!” Persephone sunk lower into her chair.

“I just-uh, I don’t want to take advantage-”

“If you feel weird about asking him, I can” said Athena, cutting her off. “I’m his favourite niece, he’d do anything for me.”

“No, no, I don’t want to get him involved” Persephone insisted.

“C’mon Kore, this is the fastest path to victory” said Ares.

“I said no!” shouted Persephone. The room was quiet for a moment, the other three shocked at Persephone’s sudden intensity. Then Athena spoke.

“What if this is the only path to victory?” asked Athena quietly, her mania of before broken by argument.

“I don’t care” said Persephone. “We’ll find another way.” Persephone yawned. “I’m getting really tired, I think we should call it a night.”

“I think that’s a good idea” said Athena. They began to pack up, cleaning up coffee cups, putting craft supplies away, folding up their flow charts. Athena came over to speak to Persephone. “Hey, so, a lot of these outcomes have this ending in trial by combat, so I want to start training you if that’s alright.”

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds fine” said Persephone. She was still a little shaken by her own reactions to the argument.

“Great, do you want to start tomorrow?” asked Athena.

“Uh… no… no, I’ve got class and then work” said Persephone. “But Tuesday I just have class, so I can be over by 3 if that works.”

“Works for me” said Athena with a smile. “You boys are invited too if you want.”

After they said goodnight Eros decided it was a good idea to walk Persephone home.

“So, do you want to talk about what just happened in there?” he asked a few minutes into their walk.  
“Not really” replied Persephone.

“Alright, just thought I’d ask” said Eros. Persephone smiled. She loved Eros for that. She knew he was always there for her, but was also willing to respect her boundaries with stuff like that as well. When she was ready, she would talk to him, and he would be as supportive as ever.

The truth was Presephone had tons of good reasons to not want Hades involved. For one, he was her boss, and she couldn’t imagine a world where HR would find that appropriate. Second, she didn’t want to take advantage of their friendship in any way. He already wrote her a check, he didn’t need to do anything else for her. Besides, since they confessed their feelings for each other… or she confessed her feelings and he… what did he actually say? Regardless, it was complicated, she didn’t need to complicate it any further. Plus, she was sure getting him involved with all this would violate their new boundaries, and those boundaries were made for a reason. She couldn’t imagine Minthe would be too pleased about Hades running off to play “Knight in Shining Armour”. Not to mention how much that bothered her, she didn’t want to be seen as maiden in need of rescuing. 

The real reason though, if she was being honest with herself, stemmed from the little voice in the back of her head. This was the voice that called her the stupid little village girl, and a whole host of new and demeaning names since the incident with Apollo. She was terrified that if she told him the truth, if she told him what had happened between her and Apollo, that he would lose respect for her. Hades was the first person to ever respect her for her, not her mother, not because she was a goddess, but just because of her. She wasn’ about to do anything to jeopardize that.

It just wasn’t worth the risk.

She woke up early the next morning. Still uneasy about the conversations the day before. She baked brownies for her class and they went over marvelously. She felt like things with her classmates were certainly changing for the better. By the time she started at work her worries were beginning to drift away. Nothing could take her mind off things like reading about the lives of mortals. As per usual she ended up losing track of time. When she actually checked it was almost 7pm, and she was supposed to leave by 6pm. She quickly packed up her things, but away the scrolls, and grabbed all the reports she had done that day. She decided to run the reports up to Hades’ office on her way out. She wouldn’t be in tomorrow she didn’t want him to have to go searching for them. She would just leave them on his desk, assuming his office was open, if not she could put them on his assistant’s desk. But when Persephone got out of the elevator at the 99th floor, she was met with a sight that sent a wave of shock and anger through her entire body.

The large door to Hades’ office was wide open. Persephone could see Hades sitting at his desk, the large desk laden with takeout food. There was a woman sitting across from him. A woman with a lean build, very toned, with silver skin and short silver hair. The woman turned around at the sound of the elevator, and her eyes widened at the sight of Persephone.

Athena was having dinner with Hades.

***

It had been a rough few days for Hades. Breaking up with Minthe had not been easy, but it had been the right thing to do. She never made things easy for him, but he still hated to hurt her like that. Admittedly he had felt much better since he had ended things with her, and part of himself felt guilty about that. _Note to self: bring that up next I see the good doctor._ He had stopped himself from texting Minthe a few times. He was just so just so used to checking in on her, making sure she was okay, it was weird to not do it. It was a brave new world he had to get used to.

He wanted to talk to Persephone about this. In fact, she was the only person who he thought about this with. Of course, she was the only person he couldn’t talk about this with. She had put down the boundaries, he needed to respect that. _Boundaries are a good thing_ , he reminded himself. But it was just so hard, embarrassingly hard, when all he wanted to do was call her and tell her everything that had happened. Well, not everything. There were some things that had happened with Minthe that she didn’t need to know about.

This internal debate was causing him to pull out his phone at random times, stare at it for a few moments, and then put it away having done nothing. This was happening several times a day, and apparently the behaviour had not gone unnoticed.

“Okay, what are you doing?” asked Hecate in their Monday morning meeting. “Am I boring you, is that it? Is the running of your kingdom suddenly so uninteresting to you?”

“No, I… sorry, just go on” said Hades, putting his phone back in his pocket. Hecate gave him a look that said she was not satisfied with the answer. “I was just think maybe I should text Minthe… but then I decided not to.”

“Why.”

“Why did I want to text her or why did I decide not to?”

“Just why.” Hades sighed.

“Well I know we broke up-”

“No no” interrupted Hecate. “ _You_ broke up with _her_. There’s a difference.”

“I still care about her, I still want to make sure she’s doing alright” he said. Hecate gave him a very unimpressed look and then gave a long, heavy sigh.

“Hades, you’re a good man with a good heart” she said. “And this is exactly how Minthe sucks you back into her web of toxicity.” Hades took a moment to consider her words. She wasn’t wrong he supposed. “Do not. Text. Your ex.” she said.

“You’re right” he said. 

“Can I continue now?” she asked.

“Sure, sure” he replied, his head still elsewhere. Clearly Hecate was not buying that he was paying attention. “What do you think about me texting Persephone?” he asked, and Hecate put her head in her hands. She then pulled out her own phone and put it to her ear.

“Hello, police?” she said. “I’d like to report a missing person. I don’t know how but it seems the King of the Underworld has been replaced by a 15 year old girl.”

“Ha ha, very funny” said Hades sarcastically.

“I thought so” replied Hecate, a satisfied grin on her face. “Can we focus please?” Just then Hades phone buzzed and he dove to pull it out of his pocket. Hecate pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sweet Gaia, give me strength.”

“Relax, it’s Athena” said Hades upon checking the message.

**Little Owl: Hey Uncle! It was so nice seeing you last week!**

Hades smiled at the message. He loved Athena, she was always so sweet and genuine. How she was his brother’s child he had no idea.

**Uncle Hades: It was wonderful seeing you too, although I wished the circumstances were different.**

**Little Owl: What are you talking about? Hestia’s slide presentations are always the best**

Hades chuckled at the message. Hecate was beginning to tap her foot impatiently. “You know what? I’m going to go grab us some coffees, and when I get back, you’re head better here and focused” she said.

“Thanks Hecate, you’re the best” called Hades as she walked out of his office.  
“Tell me something I don’t know” she replied as she left. Another message came in from Athena.

**Little Owl: I hadn’t realized how much I missed you. We should grab dinner. How about tonight at 6pm?**

**Uncle Hades: I’m supposed to work late tonight, maybe another time.**

**Little Owl: No problem! I’ll just bring take-out to your office. Golden Palace Chinese sound good?**

He thought about arguing, about rescheduling for another night. He did have a lot of work to get done, work he had been neglecting over the past two weeks. In truth though, dinner with his niece sounded a lot more pleasant than that. As well, when it came to family time, Athena was very like her father, she doesn’t take no for an answer.

**Uncle Hades: Sounds perfect! See you at 6**

The thought of seeing his niece brought a smile to his face for the rest of the day, and was a welcome distraction from his own internal turmoil. The rest of the meeting with Hecate went smoothly, although she did bring up the fact that Hades had to hire a new assistant. Hades hadn’t fired Minthe, but she had contacted Hecate and said she would not be returning from her suspension. Hades didn’t know if she was embarrassed, or if it was too painful for her to see him everyday. Maybe it was a bit of both, and while Hades was relieved at the idea of not seeing her all the time, he dreaded hiring someone new. 

At exactly 6pm the elevator door opened and Athena walked out. She was always incredibly punctual. She had three huge bags of take-out in her hands. She headed straight into Hades’ office and placed them on his desk.

“How much food did you get?” he asked.

“Enough” she replied. When he gave her a look she just shrugged. “What? I’m hungry and you don’t eat enough.”

“It’s how I keep my svelte figure” he said. Now it was Athena’s turn to give him a look. Hades just chuckled, walked around his desk, and gave Athena a big hug. She returned it, giving her classic bear hug that lifted Hades off the ground.

“It’s good to see you, Little Owl” he said.

“It’s good to see you too, Uncle Hades” she replied. Once she put him down she looked at the food she had placed on his desk. “Now let’s dig in, I’m starving.” They started opening up containers, doling out food onto paper plates that Athena had brought, getting out chopsticks and soy sauce. Athena had in fact brought enough food to feed about four people, but she also wasn’t kidding when she said she was hungry.

“I’m really glad you texted, we haven’t done this in so long” said Hades while they ate.

“Well that’s because someone never comes to Olympus” she said. “And you can’t say I never visit, because I’m here.”

“Touché” said Hades, staring down at his sesame chicken.

“I’m just teasing you” said Athena cheerily. “How have you been doing lately? I saw on Fatesbook you and Minthe made things official.”

“Yeah… you may want to recheck that” said Hades. Athena gave a quizzical look. “We broke up last week.” Hades paused, and Athena reached across his desk to take his free hand in hers. “It was the right thing to do, but, it’s still hard, you know?”

“I’m really sorry Uncle” said Athena.

“Really? I figured you and the rest of the family would love this” said Hades.

“Hades, you’re clearly hurting over this” said Athena. “Why would I ever celebrate you having a difficult time?” Hades gave her hand a squeeze.

“This is why I love you Little Owl” said Hades. “You’re so compassionate and caring…”

“I will celebrate in private later” she said. Hades couldn’t help but laugh.

“And honest.” Athena started laughing with him, but when she stopped she looked sheepishly down to her lap.

“Speaking of honesty, I should probably tell why I’m really here” she said.

“Athena, you don’t have ulterior motives, do you?” said Hades sarcastically. His niece rarely did anything without a plan. She rolled her eyes at him but was still smiling.

“Gosh, how do I put this” she said. “I’ve, uh… I’ve come to give you a heads up.”

“A heads up?” asked Hades. “About what?”

“Ares and I are working together on something” she said. Hades’ stomach dropped. When the two gods of war got together on something it was never good.  
“Oh fuck” he said.

“What do you mean? It’s always a fun time when Ares and I get together” she said, defending herself.

“Yeah, for you guys” countered Hades. “So what’s this project of yours?”

“Uh… I can’t tell you” she said. “But I will say it will rock the pantheon to it’s very… core.” Athena had a goofy grin on her face, clearly expecting a reaction out of Hades. “Okay, you don’t get it, but that joke is really funny.”

“I’ll take your word for it” he said. “So was that it? Just a courtesy call?”

“Well…” she said. He knew there had to be something else. “I’ve done my strategic analysis. I’ve looked at every possibility, every action, I know every victory and every defeat. I’ve looked at this thing upwards, downward, frontward, backwards, side to side, and every which way in between… and there’s a possibility you could become involved.” Hades stiffened up at her words. “If you were involved you would make this a lot less painful for people you care about… but the thing is… I can’t be the one to ask you.”

“I have to say, this is a little concerning to hear Little Owl” said Hades.

“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just that-”

The elevator door dinged, breaking their conversation. Athena whipped her head around as Hades peered out his office door to see who it was. It was Persephone, but her eyes were red, and her hair was full of red vines. The last time she looked like that…

Hades looked back at Athena. Her entire body had tensed up upon seeing Persephone. “Athena, is everything alright?”

“Shit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone tells Hades about the rape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know the fic itself is tagged for rape/non-con but I also wanted to put trigger warnings on this chapter in particular for sexual assault/rape and self loathing thoughts.
> 
> Trauma can be a difficult and complicated thing to heal from, and anything and everything you feel is 100% valid. Healing can be beautiful but it can also be messy as hell. Please remember to be kind to yourself, and also remember that any progress is a victory. If you or anyone you know has experienced trauma, please reach out to someone who can help you work through it. 
> 
> PS. We finally get to some Hades and Persephone fluff in the form of aggressive cuddling, please enjoy!

“I have to go Uncle Hades” Persephone heard Athena say from the office. “You can keep the leftovers, I’m sure you never bring lunch to the office.” Athena rushed out of the office, her head down, but Persephone grabbed her arm as she passed.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed.

“What? I can’t have dinner with my uncle?” said Athena. She tried to pull her arm away but Persephone’s grip was too tight.

“What did you tell him?” Persephone demanded.

“Nothing, but you’re the one making a scene right now, so if he asks you questions, it’s not my fault” said Athena. Persephone let her arm go as a realization dawned on her.

“You set this up” she accused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” said Athena. “Bye Uncle Hades!” she called and then disappeared into the elevator.

Persephone didn’t wait for an invitation, she marched right into Hades’ office.

“Hello Persephone, how lovely-”

“What did she tell you?” shouted Persephone, cutting him off. Her voice was harsh, dripping with rage. She wished she could stop, she wished she could calm down, but she felt like things were crashing down around her.

“Excuse me?” said Hades, clearly taken aback.

“Did she say anything about…?” Persephone cut herself off. What was she doing?

“She told me she was working with Ares, that’s all” said Hades. He furrowed his brow. “Are you involved in that?” Persephone was shaking now, and tears were beginning to fall down her face.

“She… she… she shouldn’t have come here!” she yelled.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, his voice soft. He reached out to her but she pulled back. “Is this… does this have anything to do with Apollo?”

The words made Persephone’s ears start to ring. Suddenly she couldn’t hear anything going on around her. Hades was getting far away, so far away. She was falling, and there was nothing she could do to stop herself.

And then the world snapped back to reality in an instant. She could see Hades lips moving but she hadn’t heard what he said.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I said please don’t make me do it” he said sadly. Fear gripped her insides.

“Do what?” she asked.

“Make me use my one question” he said. “You remember? One personal question, anytime, anyplace?” Persephone didn’t answer him, she didn’t know how.

_Please don’t, please don’t, please don’t, please don’t_

“Persephone?”

_No!_

“What happened with Apollo?”

The world stopped again, but this wasn’t like it was before. Everything was in hyper focus. She could hear Hades breathing, she could hear her own heart beat. She could see the red vines in her hair falling in front of her eyes, and she could even see a tear beginning to brim on the corner of Hades eye.

“Goodbye Hades” she said, and then turned on her heel and walked out.

“Persephone, no! Wait, I’m sorry!” called Hades behind her, but she ignored him. She needed to get out of there.

By the time she reached the lobby of Tower 1 there was a text message on her phone.

**Eros bby: So Athena texted and said to meet at her place??? I thought we weren’t meeting today**

**Petal Power: I’ll explain when I get there**

Persephone barely even registered her journey to get to Athena’s house, it was a total blur. When she got there she wasted no time.

“How dare you!” she yelled at Athena as soon as she walked in the door. Eros and Ares were already there, but seemed to have been warned by Athena to keep their distance.

“Persephone, I thought you might stop by” said Athena in a tone one might have used if a friend had come over for tea.

“You had no right to do that!” she shouted, ignoring Athena’s pleasantries.

“I thought Hades would have told you, I didn’t tell him anything” Athena said calmly.

“You know what? Cut the crap!” said Persephone. “It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t say, you went there with the intention of getting him involved when I explicitly told you not to!”

“So what if I did!” said Athena. Her tone was different now, darker, more serious. The edges of her form began to ripple as her power began to radiate from her. The Goddess of War was here now. “I was doing my job!”

“Your job?” scoffed Persephone.

“Yes, my job, the job you asked me to do!” replied Athena. “You are being short sighted in this, and my job is to see the forest through the trees, that’s called strategy!”

“You told me we were going to do this my way!” shouted Persephone.

“I also told you this wasn’t going to be easy, I also told you we were going to have to do things that make you uncomfortable, that you don’t like” said Athena. “Healing hurts kiddo! It hurts to reset a bone, it hurts to clean out a wound! Buck up, little girl!”

“DON’T” screamed Persephone. There was a moment of silence. “Don’t call me that” she said quietly, her voice shaking from rage.

“Then grow up.”

Persephone was so livid that she couldn’t speak, so for the second time that evening she turned on her heels and left the argument. This time there was no one calling after her though. She vaguely heard Athena say to let her go, but they were so far away. Persephone just started walking, and she didn’t know where she was walking to. All she knew was that she had to keep walking.

_I hate that I cry when I’m angry._

She was barely even registering the world around her. At one point her feet lifted off the ground and she began to glide through the air, essentially letting the wind take her where she needed to go.

_It’s just not fair._

When she touched down on the ground she wasn’t totally surprised where she ended up. Nobody was home, and rather than waiting inside, she went around back and sat down on the grass of the backyard. She took a deep breath, letting the last of the rage leave her system. But now that the rage was gone, something else overwhelmed her. Grief.

Persephone began to sob, and as she did the backyard came to life around her. Trees burst out of the ground, flowers blossomed, bushes were growing. It was such a beautiful sight, in such contrast to her broken heart, that it just made her cry more.

The Goddess of Spring sat in the garden watered by her own tears.

***

Hades didn't get home until 9 that night. He felt like shit after what had happened with Persephone. When he walked in the door he simply sat down where he was and let the pack overwhelm him. Some days, you just needed to sit on the floor and be mobbed with love by… wait… six dogs?

"Why am I missing two dogs?" he asked out loud to the pack. "Where are Cerberus and Big John?" Hades stood up and started walking through the house. He undid his tie and the top button of his shirt now that he was home. Finally, he looked out his back window.

"What the fuck?" he breathed as he took in the sight.

Not much grew in the Underworld, not many plants could flourish in the harsh soil. But Hades' barren backyard he was used to looking at, it was now covered in greenery. There were trees that looked like they had been there for years, wide and tall, with branches that brushed the stars. There were fruit trees in full bloom, bushes so plump and green, and beautiful flowers of all sorts of shape and colour. Sitting on the ground in the middle of blue hydrangeas and baby's breath was the source of both his new flourishing garden and his missing dogs.

He headed out the back door and down the steps of his patio. Persephone turned to look at him as he headed over to her. Her eyes were red, but not from rage, as they were early, but from crying. She turned back around to look at her work, one hand petting Cerberus, the other petting Big John.

"How did you get here?" he asked when he got to her.

"I walked" she said plainly.

"No, I mean how did you get on the property?" he asked.

"Yeah, I walked" she said again.

"No, I mean… never mind." He sat down on the ground next to Big John. He reached out to Big John and the dog rolled so he could put his head in Persephone's lap and show Hades his belly. "You know, I could have you arrested for trespassing?" he said in what he hoped was a light tone.

She didn't answer him. She looked at him with those big eyes, her expression blank, and then looked down at her lap.

“Of course you’re not in the mood for teasing, I don’t know what I-”

“Don’t.” Her voice was so soft and serious. He couldn’t recall ever hearing it like that. The sat in silence for a little bit, Hades a little afraid to say anything. He hoped she would say something, but she just kept staring off at the trees she had grown, absent-mindedly petting the dogs. Finally, Hades couldn’t take it anymore.

“Persephone, I’m so sorry about earlier” he said. “I never should have asked you that. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, I just-”

“No” she interrupted. “No, I… I need to tell you.” She stood up and turned to face him. Now that she was standing he could see that her hair had grown all the way to the ground, earlier it had been in her favoured pixie cut. She took a deep breath. “This is going to be really hard to say, so I need you to not interrupt me, okay? I don’t know if I’m going to get through it otherwise.”

“Okay” he said, a knot already starting to form in his stomach. “Whatever you need.” She nodded at him in appreciation.

“I um… I don’t really know where to start” she said. “I’ve only really said it out loud once before, and my head is still trying to make sense of it all.” She paused and took another deep breath. “That night after the party, when I texted you so late, and then you called… well the reason I was up so late was… well it was because of _him_.” Hades remembered that conversation as if it was yesterday. So this was why she had been crying. “He had been over at the house, him and Hermes. We were watching a movie and I went to bed. I know Artemis had to go work in the Mortal Realm and I guess Hermes fell asleep. Anyway, he came into my room and woke me up and…” Her voice was beginning to shake now. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath to steady herself. Hades had already figured out where this was going. He opened his mouth to say something, _You don’t have to keep going_ , but then he closed it again, remembering what she had said about interrupting. “He started to kiss me. He told me he’d been waiting for this all night, that I had been coming on to him but I don’t remember doing that…”

_You didn’t, he’s just an asshole, he can’t imagine anyone not coming on to him_

“I tried to tell him no, that I was training to be an eternal virgin, but then I started thinking about TGOEM, the eternal part to be specific…”

_Oh, gods._

“I felt so trapped in that, and I wanted out...”

_Please, stop talking now._

“At the time, it seemed like the only way…”

_You don’t need to say the next part, it’s okay, I understand._

“I… I said ok…”

Tears were streaming down her face now. Hades thought she was done for a moment, but then she kept going, speaking faster now, as if she was trying to speed her way through it

“I regretted it as soon as I said, as soon as he started I wanted him to stop, it hurt so bad, I just wanted it to be over, I knew I made a mistake, I should have told him to stop, why didn’t I tell him to stop… There’s a lot about it I don’t remember properly… except that he took pictures…”

_That bastard!_

“Then he was done. And he just left… he told me not to tell anyone, and he left.” She clenched her hands into tight fists and pursed her lips. “Then he just… he wouldn’t leave me alone! The next day he texted me and then showed up at my school. I tried to tell him I didn’t want to see him again but he… I had so much shame around this, about what we had done, but he just didn’t seem to understand… or _want_ to understand.”

_Sounds like the prick._

“It wasn’t until I told Eros that I realized that it wasn’t what _we_ did that was wrong… it was what _he_ did…It finally hit that what he did was… was…”

_It’s fine, you don’t need to say it._

“No, I have to say this, I have to!” she said, as if she could read his mind. “What he did was rape.” She paused and took another breath. Hades could hear her breath hitch in her throat now, as if she was doing everything she could to hold back tears.

“That night you dropped me off, and he was waiting for me, I stole his lyre.” Her lips actually curled up when she said that, and there was glint in her eye. “I cut a string off it when I realized I had to go to the clinic to make sure I wasn’t pregnant on top of everything. I was planning on hiding it from him for a decade or so, watching him go mad…”

_Malicious, I like it._

“But then… last Tuesday… he actually had the nerve to tell me he wanted us to be together! I couldn’t believe how deluded he was, he had no idea what he’d done to me! I showed him his stupid lyre, I hoped that would get it through his thick skull, but he still thought-!” She was getting worked up, she took another breath to steady herself. “I told him I wanted nothing to do with him, that we were nothing. I told him he could come over Friday nights, we could be civil, as not to drag Artemis into all this… but just wouldn’t take no for an answer!” Her eyes flashed red for a moment, but then she calmed down again. She turned away from him now, looking back at her garden. Maybe it helped her to stay calm. “It got messy, it got really messy, I’m so glad Eros showed up… but I really thought after that he would get it, he would understand how I felt about it, and just leave me alone… but then Friday rolled around… and it was veiled, but it was pointed… he actually threatened to release those pictures.”

Now it was Hades’ turn for the rage to flare up inside him. _How dare that little fucker!_ Hades calmed himself when he realized Persephone was shaking. He stood up to go to her, but then stopped himself when he saw the red vines in her hair. She wasn’t shaking out of grief, she was shaking out of anger.

“I hate that he has this power over me!” she screamed. She turned back to face him and now Hades could see her eyes glowing red. “I hate that he has now fucking clue what he’s done!” Hades was pretty sure that was the first time he had heard her swear. “I hate him for taking so much from me! I hate that I said okay!”

Persephone stopped suddenly, and her hand flew up to her mouth. The red glow faded from her eyes and her expression was that of shock. Hades could only guess that perhaps that was the first time she had said that out loud.

“I hate that I let him take those pictures…” Her voice was softer now, but still shaking, every word dripping in grief. “I hate… I hate…” Hades knew what was coming next.

_Please don’t say it, be better than me, don’t-_

“I hate myself for letting this happen.”

His heart broke upon hearing her words. He brought his hand to his face and realized it was wet. He hadn’t noticed, but he had started to cry. For Persephone, there was no holding back the tears now, she was sobbing openly. Hades wanted nothing more than to run to her, hold her, tell her everything was going to be alright. He was already holding out his arms instinctively.

“Persephone, can I-?” he started, but she cut him off.

“Please!” she cried, nodding, and without another hesitation Hades pulled her into his arms. He held her so tight to him, as if he could squeeze the bad thoughts out of her. She sobbed into his chest.

“I’m… I’m… sorry I’m… so broken…” she sobbed into his chest.

“No, sweetness, no” he said, stroking her hair. “You’re not broken, you’re not. Just because something bad happened to you doesn’t make you broken, it just means… it just means that something happened to you, man I am bad at this…” She actually giggled against his chest. She looked up at him with a watering smile, but it fell away when she saw his face.

“Why are you crying?” she asked.

“Because… I hate that somebody could hurt you like that, could make you think those things about yourself” he said. “I hate that… never mind, it’s stupid.” He looked away, trying to push the last thought from his mind.

“Please tell me” she asked. He sighed, he could never deny her.

“I hate that I couldn’t protect you” he confessed. She didn’t say anything at first, she just tucked her head back into his chest.

“It’s sweet that you think that you could” she said. She gave him a squeeze and Hades responded in kind. She wasn’t crying anymore, but she also wasn’t letting go. Hades heard a soft “floom” and then felt something strange on his head. He reached one hand up and smiled when he felt the crown of flowers that was now adorning his blue white hair.

***

They stood there holding each other for what felt like forever. Was it minutes? Hours? Days? Persephone didn’t know, and nor did she particularly care. This was the safest she’d felt since she’d come to Olympus, and she never wanted it to end.

“We should probably head inside” said Hades eventually. Persephone nodded, but when he started to pull back from her a small panic gripped her.

“Please don’t let me go” she blurted out. She blushed, a little embarrassed, but Hades just smiled.

“I wouldn’t dream of it” he said. He shifted himself, always keeping a hand on her as he did, and swooped her up into his arms, carrying her. He carried her into the house and then sat himself down on the sofa with her still in his lap. “I will hold until you tell me it’s okay to let go.”

“What if I never tell you it’s okay?” she asked. He sighed a heavy sigh, but he was still smiling.

“Then I supposed I am bound to hold you for all eternity” he said dramatically. “Such is my curse.” Persephone laughed, it felt so weird to laugh after everything that had just happened, but so good too.

“It might make work a little difficult” she said.

“Are you kidding? It will really liven up Judgements to have you in my lap” he said, playing right into the game. “Although driving might be an issue.”

“Oh, I’m sure you could still see over my head, I’m very small” she replied. He laughed this time. A thought ran across Persephone’s mind that made her look away from him. “I don’t think Minthe would like it too much…”

“Oh, um…” Persephone looked up to see his face had skewed into an uncomfortable expression. “I guess I hadn’t had a chance to tell you… Minthe and I broke up…”

“Oh!” gasped Persephone. Her heart gave an involuntary leap of joy, much to her dismay. “I’m so sorry, what happened?”

“We, um, we just uh… weren’t right for each other” he said. “I’d rather not get into it if that’s alright.”

“Of course” she said. “I mean it’s really none of my business… Besides, we’ve had enough heartbreak for one night.”

“I agree” he said. He closed his eyes and let his head drop so it was resting against her own head. Oh my Gods, their lips were so close now, she could just-

Her phone rang.

“Sugar snaps!” She started to shift so she could get to her feet.

“You don’t have to get it” he said, but he helped her to her feet anyway.

“I do though, what if it’s Artemis? She could be worried about me.” She dug her phone out of her purse. It wasn’t Artemis, it was Athena.

“Hello” she said in an unfeeling tone as she answered.

“Hey” said Athena. “So, I’m calling to apologize.” There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.

  
“Go on” said Persephone.

“I was harsh on you tonight, too harsh, and I’m sorry about that” she said. “I’m also sorry about going behind your back… you know, with Hades.” She paused again, but Persephone said nothing. She wasn’t letting her off the hook that easy. “I can sometimes get a little obsessed with victory” she continued. “And you were right, about my intentions. And while I still assert that bringing Hades in would be the best course of action… but that’s your call to make, not mine… and I’m very sorry that I lost track of that.”

“Thank you” said Persephone. “Apology accepted.” She heard Athena let out a sigh of relief on the other end.

“Side note: Eros yelled at me for a good hour after you left” said Athena, her tone much more casual now. “I was impressed, I did not know the boy had it in him-”

“Athena, I told him” said Persephone. There was silence for a moment.

“You told Hades?” asked Athena.

“Yup.”

“Oh, hun, how are you doing?” she asked.

“Like I’ve been ripped open and simultaneously better than I have in weeks, does that makes sense?”

“Sadly yes” said Athena with a chuckle. “So, is he going to join our little campaign?”

“I haven’t actually asked for his help yet but he’s nodding at me furiously as we speak so I’m going to take that as a yes” she said. She smiled at Hades appreciatively at his enthusiasm.

“Great, have him stop by my house after work and we can fill him in on the plan” she said. “Not too late though…” Persephone missed what Athena said next but it sounded like “he works too much, you should fix that.”

“What did you say?”

“Never mind, it’s not important” she replied. “Listen, one more thing? I was wrong to call you a little girl before. You’re more grown up then any of us were at 19… and I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you” said Persephone, tears beginning to prickle behind her eyes for a good reason for the first time that day.

“See you tomorrow” she said.

“Goodnight.”

Once she hung up Hades went over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I would do anything to help you, just say the word and I’m there” he said. She smiled at him, and then placed her hands over his and squeezed.

“Come by Athena’s after you’re done work tomorrow” she said. “We’re going to rain justice down on him.”


	5. Chapter 5

The work day passed agonizingly slow for Hades. He kept checking his watch at every possible moment. He surprised everyone by leaving precisely at 5pm, something he hadn’t done in a long time. He stopped home, fed the dogs dinner, and then drove recklessly fast over to Athena’s house. When he got there, Eros opened the door.

“Your Majesty” he said. “Follow me, they’re down in the basement training.” Hades had been to Athena’s house before, so he immediately moved to head towards the basement stairs. “Nope, this way” said Eros. Hades was confused but he followed him. “There’s something different about you” remarked Eros. “Did you lose 123lbs of dead weight?”

“Minthe and I are no longer seeing each other if that’s what you’re inferring” said Hades. He guessed with Eros being a love god he could see that kind of thing. _Oh no, I wonder if he can see-_

“Hmm, I thought that might have been it” he replied. He opened up a door that was on the other side of the living room with a set of metal stairs heading down. “This way.” Hades headed down the stairs to find Athena standing in a small room with a glass wall. Through the glass he could see Athena’s basement, AKA her training centre. Outfitted with exercise equipment, free weights, any weapon you could think of, and a huge open space in the centre used for sparing. Persephone and Ares were down there, clearly engaged in a training battle. Ares was brandishing his favoured spear, and Persephone had opted for a lighter looking short sword.

“C’mon girl, keep your feet moving” called Athena down to them. Hades watched as Persephone moved her body so swiftly, narrowly avoiding an attack from Ares. Athena turned to see Hades and Eros coming in. “Hi Uncle Hades! Do you like my new observation deck? I had it built a few months ago so I could trainees from a safe distance.”

“One too many close calls with Artemis?” Hades asked. He’d heard Athena complain about sometimes when her bow would just “slip”.

“She has to be doing it on purpose right?” she said. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You see our girl down there? Started her training today, and she’s a real quick study. She is really holding her own down there.”

“Do you think it’s wise to have her go up against Ares on her first day?” asked Hades, concerned for Persephone’s safety.

“Wow, did you just ask the Goddess of Wisdom if she thought something was wise?” asked Eros.

“Yup, I heard it as soon as I said it” replied Hades.

“No, no, I’ll indulge Mister Overprotective here” said Athena. “First of all, like I said, she’s a very quick study. Focused, determined, eager, the perfect student.” Athena had a glint her eye Hades recognized from the few times he saw her on the battlefield. “Second of all,” she continued, “let us not forget her parentage. You of all people, I’m sure, remember how Demeter is in a fight.”

“Vicious” said Hades. He did, in fact, remember, although he didn’t want to.

“Exactly” said Athena with vigor. “And lastly, Ares isn’t using his full strength with her, which is a real shame, honestly. Personally I think he should man up and _stop being a little bitch!_ ” She shouted the last part so Ares could hear here.

“The fuck did you just call me?!” he called back.

“You heard me!” she yelled. She turned back to Hades, her expression sweet. “I love him to bits” she said. Hades shook his head and sighed. Athena might be hard on people, but she also loved with her whole heart. But Hades still had questions for her.

“Why would you want Ares to use his full strength with her?” he asked.

“Watch her” said Athena. Hades complied and Athena gave him the play by play. “She is doing exactly what she needs to go against an opponent like Ares; staying light on her feet, keeping her distance, not taking any unnecessary risks. Ares may be stronger than her, but she is definitely faster. She’s also a much smaller target which she is currently using to her advantage quite well. Her goal here will be to continue dodging his attacks until he gets frustrated and puts his full force behind an attack, which is great if he lands it, but if she dodges, that leaves him in a very vulnerable position. Perfect time to take him down.”

Hades understood her logic, although he couldn’t help feeling nervous watching the tiny goddess take on such a formidable opponent. Athena was right though, she was holding her own. Hades watched as Ares dolled out an attack she wasn’t fast enough to dodge. His heart was gripped with fear until she artfully blocked it with her sword, sending Ares slightly off balance. Not the opening Athena described, but a well performed move nonetheless.

“Get him girl!” called out Eros. 

“Nice one!” called out Hades, taking his lead from Eros. Hades immediately realized this was a mistake. Upon hearing his voice, Persephone snapped her head over to look at him. She gave him a small smile. Ares, who was either taking advantage of the distraction, or more likely unaware she was distracted, swung his spear, hitting her clean across the face. She was knocked sideways, crumpled on the training room floor, her sword several feet away from her having been knocked out of her hand. 

“Kore!” called Hades, and made a move to run down the stairs to the training room. Athena, who never took her eyes off Persephone, lifted her hand, and Hades felt an invisible force stop him.

“These are the hard lessons, and she needs to learn them” said Athena softly.

“Persephone!” shouted Ares, concern ripe in his voice, just realizing what he’d done. He was running towards her crumpled form. “Oh Gods, are you okay? I’m so-”

But Ares never got to finish his apology, because he was suddenly being held suspended by his ankles by a mixture of green vines and pink hair.

“Holy shit!” yelled Eros, and Athena had a look of sheer glee on her face.

Persephone stood up slowly, never letting up her grip on Ares. When Hades could actually get a good look at her face, he could see her eyes were glowing red again. But there was something different about it this time, something more feral, more _powerful_.

Persephone turned to Ares, and in one swift motion reeled him back, and then threw him across the room. He hit the wall about 7 feet from the ground, leaving a decent crack behind him, and then crumpled in a heap on the floor. Persephone’s hair and vines were now in the air around her, ready to strike again. She began to walk towards him slowly.

“Game, set, match!” called Athena. Persephone seemed to snap out of a haze at the sound of Athena’s voice. Her hair dropped, the red faded from her eyes, and she adopted an almost bashful expression. “Eros, why don’t you take Hades to the war room? We’ll be up shortly.” Eros nodded and began to lead the way, with Hades begrudging following him.

Athena made her way down to the training room as fast as she could. “Was that okay?” asked Persephone as she approached.

“Okay? That was amazing!” said Athena. “Ares, you alright over there?”

“Uggghh… yup” groaned Ares. Persephone could see him slowly starting to get up. She cringed internally as he moaned in pain moving his body.

“Well in that case, what is wrong with you?” said Athena to Ares. Ares gave her an exasperated look. “Never apologize during a fight, you know better than that.” 

“In my defense, I never ended up finishing” he said as he slowly made his way over to them. “You did good kid, I haven’t had a beating like this in a while.”

“Why don’t you head upstairs with the others? I need a few minutes with my star pupil” said Athena to Ares. Ares nodded and then made for the stairs. As he left Persephone felt a wave of fatigue wash over her. Her knees began to buckle but Athena caught her.

“Woah there.”

“Sorry, I’m just really tired all of a sudden” said Persphone. Athena tried to help right her feet but Persephone just ended just leaning into her shoulder. Athena put an arm around Persephone in order to support her. 

“I was about to say, as badass as that was, you don’t have the stamina to pull off moves like that consistently yet” said Athena. “We’ll continue working on your basic technique. There were a few moments where you could have gotten a few shots in on Ares but you were hesitant.” Persephone nodded in agreement, she had been apprehensive, although she thought it was understandable. Her first fight and she was up against the God of war. “Do you think you can stand on her own?” asked Athena.

“I think so” replied Persephone. Athena let her go, and she wobbled a little at first, but then steadied herself. Suddenly Athena grapped Persephone under the chin and turned her face to look. Peresphone moved her face out of Athena’s grip.

“There’s no mark on your face” said Athena. “There should be a mark, you got it really hard…”

“Just lucky I guess” said Persephone. “C’mon, we should head upstairs.”

As Persephone and Athena got closer to the war room (which was really Athena’s spare bedroom which had been plastered in their flowcharts from the other night) they could hear shouting. As they got closer, it was clear there was an argument going on between Ares and Hades, that was getting progressively more intense.

“Yes Ares, I’m sure ‘pounding him to pieces’ is the perfect strategy for taking out Apollo” Hades was saying.

“Oh, like you could do much better!” yelled Ares.

“I could crush him” growled Hades.

“Are you serious?! You getting senile in your old age?”

“Are you forgetting I learned to fight on Titans?”

“Yeah, like a million years ago! And the war couldn’t end until the Hecatoncheires got involved.”

“Who are now the guards of Tartarus, serving me! They fear me!”

“What the fuck is going on in here?!” shouted Athena when her and Persephone got there. Ares and Hades were standing on opposite sides of the room glowering at each other. Eros was sitting on the bed, which was between them, looking very concerned. They all looked up when Athena and Persphone walked in. Eros looked relieved, Ares looked annoyed that he had been interrupted, but Hades looked guilty. “We could hear you two jackasses two floors away!” Only Athena could get away with calling a King a jackass to his face. “News flash assholes: this isn’t a dick measuring contest, okay? We’re not here to serve our own selfish desires-”

“A little rich coming from you” said Ares. His brave words were undercut by the fact that he could meet Athena’s eye when he said it, but it wasn’t Athena who shot back at him.

“Hey, she apologized and I forgave her, so you can just drop it” said Persephone, perhaps a little harsher than she meant. The aftershocks of her sudden explosion of power from earlier were still coursing through her. She took a deep breath, calming herself. She didn’t want to lose control again, but she still didn’t like what she had heard. “I appreciate how much you all care about me, and how much you want to protect me, I really do. But I’m not a maiden who needs rescuing, or did you all miss what just happened down there?” She paused, but no one said anything in response. It gave her a chance to put her next thought into words. “I don’t need you to fight for me… I need you to fight with me!” 

“You’re right, we are so sorry” said Hades. He looked over at Ares who was looking despondent at the ceiling.

“Yeah, I guess I’m sorry or whatever” he said.

“Good” said Persephone. “And another thing? If anyone’s going to pound Apollo to pieces, it’s going to be me, got it?”

“Got it” replied everyone in the room in unison. Ares and Hades sounded like school boys in trouble, but both Athena and Eros’ voices were dripping with pride.

“Good… good!” said Persephone. She felt a little weird having all these powerful gods answer her in such a way. “Also, I’m pretty sure the cookies I baked earlier are cool by now so… I’m going to go get them.”

Persephone left and headed down to the kitchen to get the plate of cookies, and halfway down the stairs she realized Hades was following her.

“They’re just cookies, I don’t need help” she said, unintentionally cool.

“No, that’s not- I just-” he stammered. “I just wanted to apologize, that got out of hand with Ares.”

“It’s okay” said Persephone. “But just so you know, you’re 60% scoundrel now” she said, trying to lighten the mood. She was starting to get uncomfortable with the whole situation, so she hoped some humour would help. They were at the kitchen now, and Persphone grabbed the plate of cookies off the counter.

“60%? Really?” he said in what she hoped was mock offense.

“Hey, I don’t make the rules” she said. 

“So what kind of cookies did you make?” he asked, his hand inching towards the plate. Persephone smacked it away.

“Double chocolate chunk, and no sampling until we get upstairs” she said. 

“Someone’s turning into quite the little tyrant” he said as they climbed the stairs.

“And don’t you forget it” she replied with a wink.

“Ugh, you two stink of flirting” said Eros when they walked back into the room. Persephone blushed deeply at his words, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Hades blushing too, which made her smile. “Pass around those cookies and let’s get down to business.” When everyone got at least one cookie, Athena began.

“Welcome everyone, and welcome especially to our latest co-conspirator” announced Athena. “Now, we all know why we’re, for justice!”

“Possibly mainstream justice, possibly vigilante justice” said Ares.

“Starting, however, with mainstream justice” continued Athena. “Which means our first step is to meet with Zeus and convince him to go forward with a trial.”

“Is this where I come in?” asked Hades.

“Precisely” replied Athena. “It’ll be Persephone’s word against Apollo’s, so making Persephone impossible to ignore will be crucial to success. And we have to be successful on our first try, if word gets out we’re making trouble, it could force Apollo to do something _drastic._ ”

“You can just say ‘release the pictures’, it’s okay” said Peresphone. 

“And we obviously want to avoid that at all costs” said Athena. “Once the complaint is lodged, Zeus will have 48 hours to make his decision.”

“What if Apollo gets word of what we’re doing in that 48 hours?” asked Hades.

“I know what you’re getting at, and I don’t think Apollo would release the pictures then” said Athena. “I mean, he’d pretty much be admitting his guilt if he did that, and even if they claimed they were taken consensually, it would still be revenge porn.”

“Well if he thinks he’s going to get declared guilty anyway, wouldn’t he want to take Persephone down too?” asked Eros.

“Excellent point, and the likelihood of that increases the farther down the road we get” said Athena. “I wouldn’t start worrying about that until…” she headed over to a flow chart on the other side of the room, “here.”

“So when are we doing this thing?” asked Ares.

“Indeed, timing is important here, my tactically minded friend” said Athena. “My vote is sooner rather than later, less of a risk others will find out about our little plot.”

“Friday” said Persephone almost as soon as Athena stopped talking.

“That was fast” commented Eros.

“There is no way I am sitting through another movie night” replied Persephone. “Besides, I don’t have class on Friday so that makes it easy… oh shoot, I think I’m supposed to work though.”

“Let me talk to your boss, I know he’s a bit of a hard ass, but I’m sure I can convince him to give you the day off” said Hades. Persephone smiled at his joke.

“That was actually funny” said Eros.

“Don’t sound so surprised” Hades shot back.

“Focusing” growled Ares. He didn’t always love the banter, not when there was a mission at hand.

“How is 9am on Friday for everyone?” asked Athena. 

“Works for me”

“Me too”

“Same here”

“Should we make an appointment?” asked Persephone. It sounded like such a stupid question coming out of her mouth, but she thought she should ask it anyway.

“No way, it’ll be way balsier if we don’t” said Ares. 

“He’s got a point” said Athena. Persephone wasn’t convinced. What if Zeus didn’t see them? She didn’t think she could take it. Ares sensed her hesitation.

“You are going to be walking in there with three of the most powerful Olympians there are, one of which is a king. We are going to own that place when walk in, and there’s no way my father is going to be stupid enough to turn us away” said Ares. “You’ve got to go in there with confidence, with attitude, with the same kind of spunk you had when you called your mother in to have me beaten with a pitchfork.” Persephone giggled, but then a sinister smile landed on her lips. “There, right there! That’s the attitude!” said Ares excitedly. “Attitudes like that don’t need appointments.”

“I mean, I will also be there… in case y'all are forgetting” said Eros.

“You don’t need any help in the attitude department, you have plenty” replied Ares. Persephone laughed. It always amazed her that the places where Eros and Ares butted heads the most were the places where they were most alike. She checked her phone casually and noticed the time.

“Oh Gods, I have to get home” she said. “I have an assignment due on Thursday that I haven’t started yet.” 

“Let’s call it a night” said Athena. They all stood up, gathered belongings that needed to be gathered, packed up extra cookies at Persephone’s request.

“Do you need a ride home?” asked Hades to Persephone.

“Yes please” said Persephone, but then a thought occurred to her. “Unless, maybe we shouldn’t be alone together, you know, boundaries and all.”

“I think we kind of blew that one” Hades said. 

“Heh, yeah, right” said Persephone. “Alright, yes, a ride would be lovely.” 

They said their goodbyes and then got into Hades’ car. Before he started he patted his pockets to make sure he had everything. He was missing something.

“That’s weird, I must have left my phone inside” he said. “I’ll just go grab it, you stay here.” Persephone nodded.

Hades headed back into the house. _I don’t even remember taking my phone out._ When he walked into the kitchen however, he realized exactly what had happened. Ares and Eros were both still there, and Athena was holding Hades’ phone.

“We need to talk” she said, and placed his phone down on the kitchen island. 

“Great, shall I go grab Persephone from the car?” he asked sarcastically. 

“Obviously no, but you know that, don’t you?” said Athena sharply.

“We all saw her face” said Ares. “I clocked her with a damn spear, and there’s not a mark on her. And she also healed a four inch puncture wound on me and had no idea.”

“There’s only one type of deity that can pull off something like that” said Athena. No one said anything in response. Hades, for his part, was getting annoyed that they were all having this discussion behind Persephone’s back. “Oh come on, we’re all thinking it!” said Athena.

“Apollo even said it when I was there the other week” said Eros.

“How does that fuck face know?” asked Ares.

“Come Ares, he’s an asshole, he’s not stupid” replied Athena.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this” said Hades. “Whether or not Persephone is a Fertility Goddess has nothing to do with what we’re doing here. This why no one likes it when you two hang out, you latch onto conspiracy theory you can find and make a mission out of it. And you,” he turned to Eros, “you shouldn’t be encouraging them.” Hades grabbed his phone off the counter. “Drop this, I’m serious.” He didn’t wait for a reply from any of them, he turned and left the house.

“Sorry about that” he said as he got back into the car. “Athena took it, she thought it would be a funny prank or something.” He started the car and headed towards Artemis’ place.

“They were talking about me, weren’t they?” said Persephone in a solemn tone. Hades didn’t want to answer, she sounded so sad, but he knew he had to.

“Yes” he replied. There was no sense in lying to her again.

“It was about my face” she said. “How I healed it.”

“So you noticed that, huh?” said Hades.

“Of course I noticed” she said, her tone almost offended. “I mean one second there was ichor everywhere and the next second there wasn’t… it’s not that hard to figure out why.” They sat in silence for a few moments as Hades attempted to work out what to say. She was clearly distressed by this, he needed to comfort her.

“I mean, I wouldn’t worry about it too much” he said, and immediately regretted it. _Nice one_ he though. _Real smooth._

“I don’t know” she said. “I’m getting told the same thing from multiple source, and now I have evidence that’s literally staring me in the face… and I’m still having a hard time accepting it… Is that crazy?”

“Not at all” he said, this time sure of what he was saying. “When you’ve accepted one truth for your entire life, it can be hard to accept anything else.” They had arrived at Artemis’, but Persephone wasn’t getting out of the car.

“I guess you’re right” she said. He was able to look at her properly for the first time during the drive. She had the melancholic look again, and he couldn’t really blame her. “You know, sometimes I think you’re too nice to me… you should really fix that” she said with a half hearted smile. He took one of her hand’s in his.

“Never” he said, which made her smile for real. 

“I should probably get going” she said. “Thanks for the ride!” She got out of the car, and as per his usual, Hades waited until she got into the apartment before driving off.

_It’s terrifying how good her smile makes me feel._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case y'all (like me) had no idea who these guys were: 
> 
> The Hecatoncheires were three monsters, kind of like the cyclopes, that were the children of Gaia and Uranus. They are also called the Hundred-Handers because they had, you guessed it, 100 hands, and also 50 faces. Zeus freed them from the earth during the last bit of Titanomachy (the Titan War), and played a huge role in them winning the war. After the war, they became the guards of Tartarus. 
> 
> Not exactly critical for the chapter, but hey, I love a good fun fact moment.


	6. Chapter 6

There were two whole days between their last meeting at Athena’s house, and their next meeting at Zeus’ office. For some people, this may not seem like a long time, but for Persephone it felt like an eternity. She was quickly finding it difficult to focus on anything, her mind constantly going to what was going to happen on Friday, what could happen, what might happen. Her fear and anxiety were getting the better of her most of the time, and none of her coping mechanisms were doing the trick. 

Eros had thought this might happen. He told her that if she ever felt too overwhelmed, like she couldn’t do this anymore, then she was to immediately text one of the four of them, and they would do their best to, as he put it “talk her out of the crazy tree”. She appreciated it having the support, and more than anything, she appreciated having people around that wouldn’t let her back out on this. Sometimes, even when you know you’re doing the right thing, you need people to give you a little push when things get scary. And Persephone ended up texting each one of them in turn before she got to Friday.

***

**Petal Power: I can’t do this, help**

**Eros bby: Yes you can, you can do anything. You got this so hard that dickhead won’t know what hit him.**

**Eros bby: PS If you don’t think you can do this, let’s talk for real**

**Petal Power: No, just freaking out. I’m good now though. Thanks bb <3**

*******

**Persephone: I can’t do this.**

**Athena, Goddess of Wisdom: Of course you can! You are a badass Goddess who doesn’t take shit from anyone, and we’re going to have your back the whole time!**

**Persephone: Thanks Athena! You’re the best!**

*******

**Persephone (Kore): I can’t do this.**

**Ares, God of War: You better, I’m actually looking forward to this.**

**Persephone (Kore): That’s not how this works.**

**Ares, God of War: If you wanted mushy you should have texted my son**

**Ares, God of War: Besides, if you back out on this plan, I’m going right back to my first plan, which was murder.**

**Persephone (Kore): No no, no murder. I’m good now, thanks.**

*******

**Persephone: I can't do this.**

**Hades, King of the Underworld: You can do this. You are one of the most incredible people I have ever met. You are courageous and strong and more powerful than you know**

**Persephone: Wow! Okay! Yes, I can totally do this! Thank you!**

**Hades, King of the Underworld: Was that too much?**

**Persephone: I definitely didn't tear up a little reading that**

**Hades, King of the Underworld: I'm starting to learn it doesn't take much to make you cry**

**Persephone: Ouch! 80% scoundrel!**

**Hades, King of the Underworld: :P**

***

When Friday morning finally came Persephone woke up ridiculously early. She took a very long, very hot shower. When she was done she wiped away the steam from the mirror and stared at herself.

The voices were still there, the voices that told her this was all her fault, that she was a slut and a whore for letting him do what he did. The voices called her a stupid little village girl, they told her she was too young, too dumb. They told her not to speak, not to make a fuss, to be a good little girl and keep her mouth shut. 

_I can't do this._

There was something strange, however, as she continued to stare at herself. There were other voices, good voices, supportive voices. They said all the things her friends had told her all week. They told her she was powerful, and brave, and a badass. They told her she could do anything, and not only _could_ she do this, she _deserved_ this. She was worthy of justice, and if no one was going to give it to her, she would take it for herself. These voices swirled around her mind, and somehow they were louder than the other ones. And then Persephone's own voice, out loud, rang out above them all.

"You can do this!" she said to the Persephone in the mirror. "I can do this."

She dressed carefully that day. Eros had given her some suggestions on what to wear, but she also couldn't help thinking of her mama's favoured outfit when she went to Olympus. There was a reason she wore it, it meant she was not someone to be trifled with. With that in mind she opted for a pair of black pants that were tapered but not tight. Rather than go for her mama's classic button up blouse and tie, she instead put on a white shell blouse with a neckline that covered her cleavage without being overly conservative. She paired it with a black leather blazer Eros had bought her the first time they went shopping together, remembering what he had said when they bought it. _It's professional, but also says don't fuck with me._ Finally, just before Athena picked her up at 8:30, she slipped her feet into a pair of classic black pumps.

When they arrived at the Olympus Headquarters building Hades was sitting on one of the benches out front, but Eros and Ares hadn't arrived yet. 

"Are hugs okay this morning?" he asked as they approached.

"Yes please" said Persephone, her arms already out stretched. He pulled her into a tight embrace, completely enveloping her in his arms. It was so comforting to be there.

A few moments later she felt the touch of another person joining the hug behind her. Hades sighed.

"This isn't a group hug Athena" he said.

"It is now" she replied, making Persephone giggle. “Oh look, Eros and Ares are here” she said, but didn’t let go.

“Oh sweet, group hug!” Persephone heard Eros say. “C’mon dad, let’s get in on this!”

“Nooo…” moaned Hades softly. Persephone felt the pressure of two more bodies being added to the group. It was such a strangely safe feeling being in the middle of all of this. “Who is behind me?” asked Hades with an unimpressed too.

“Meee!” said Eros sweetly. 

“Okay, nope, it got weird!” said Hades. “Everyone back off.” They all separated, and Persephone was left with a huge smile across her face. It was so amazing to have so many people to support her, to love her.

“Let me guess, this started as a two person hug and Athena misread social cues again” said Ares. 

“Hey!” said Athena in protest, but Hades was nodding vigorously. 

“Your outfit is bomb” said Eros while looking at Persephone. “Good choice on this blazer, it looks fantastic on you.”

“Thank you!” replied Persephone, doing a little cutesy turn. “So, are we all ready to go?”

“More importantly, are _you_ ready to go?” asked Eros.

“I am” said Persephone, sounding more confident than she actually felt. “Let’s do this.”

Like Hades, Zeus had his office on the top floor of the building. It was a long, and slightly cramped, elevator ride to the top floor. The five of them did get some strange looks from people who were showing up to work. Hades outside of the Underworld was a strange enough sight, not to mention the rest of his company. 

When the elevator doors finally opened on the top floor Persephone almost didn’t get out. Someone gave her a little nudge, she suspected Ares, and she tripped out of the elevator. She righted herself, and then looked behind her at the others for support.

“Your lead” said Athena. Persephone nodded at her, adopted the expression of someone she hoped would be taken seriously, and then walked over to Zeus’ assistant.

“I’m here to see His Majesty, King Zeus” she said to the ocean nymph. She didn’t even look up at her.

“Do you have an appointment?” she said dismissively. 

“She doesn’t need an appointment” said Hades. The nymph’s eyes shot up from her computer screen and went wide when she saw him. “She’s with me.” 

“My apologies King Hades, I didn’t see you there” she said. “I will go let King Zeus know you’re here.”

She rushed into Zeus’ office, shutting the door behind her. Persephone could hear raised voices coming from the office. After a few moments the nymph came back out, wearing a pleasant and yet strained expression.

“He will see you now” she said.

The five of them filed into Zeus’ office. It was not what Persephone was expecting. She expected extravagance, but it was really plainly decorated. There was a couch and coffee table on the left side of the office. There were a few bookshelves on the right hand wall. Two chairs were in front of Zeus’ massive desk, which was the most extravagant part of the decor. Truly the thing that drew the eye the most was the motivational poster that hung directly behind Zeus as he sat at his desk.

**Thunder (It’s Good)**

“Persephone, Hades, Athena, Ares, Eros!” he said in a welcome tone when they came in. “To what do I owe this pleasure from so many of my favourite people, unannounced, first thing in the morning? Please, sit down.” Persephone automatically took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Eros happened to be closest to her, so he sat in the chair next to her. “I’ll have Thetis bring in more chairs.”

“No need. We’ll stand” said Hades. Zeus shot him a look that Persephone didn’t entirely understand. 

“So, what can I do for you?” asked Zeus, seemingly unsure who exactly to address.

“I’m here to lodge a complaint against an Olypian and request that you call a trial to judge their crimes” said Persephone. She had rehearsed these words over and over again.

“Which Olypian?” asked Zeus.

“Apollo” said Persephone. Zeus was still smiling, but his right eye twitched when she said his name.

“And, are you all here to lodge complaints against Apollo?” he asked the others.

“Nope, just her” said Athena.

“So then why are you here?” asked Zeus, his voice starting to betray some of the tension that was building.

“Moral support” said Ares in a slightly threatening tone. For a split second Zeus lost his composure, just long enough for a spark of electricity to appear near his head, but then his smile returned.

“And what crime are you accusing Apollo of?” he asked Persephone. 

“Rape.”

To Persephone’s surprise Zeus did not look shocked when she spoke. Instead he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and adopted a sort of resigned expression.

_Wait, was he expecting this?_

“You all need to leave” said Zeus, his eyes still closed. “This is between Persephone and I.” None of them moved a muscle.

“It’s okay” said Persephone. “Just wait for me outside, okay?”

“Of course” said Eros as he squeezed her hand and then made his way to the door. Athena kissed the top of her head, Ares patted her on the back gently. Hades did not go for the door however, he instead went over to Zeus. He leaned in close to his brother, speaking quietly, but Persephone could still hear. She turned her head and tried not to listen.

“You’ll have 48 hours to make this decision” said Hades. “I want it done in 6.”

“Ooh, you don’t usually tell me what to do” replied Zeus. “I like it.” Persephone could feel Zeus’ eyes on her. “I bet she likes it too.” Persephone blushed, giving away that she was listening to them. Zeus’ tone made her uncomfortable, but she felt better when Hades came over and gave her an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder.

“Now that we’re alone” said Zeus in a slightly sinister tone, “why don’t you tell me exactly what happened?”

***

Persephone had been in with Zeus for over an hour, and Hades was getting more and more nervous by the minute, and he was not the only one. Athena was pacing up and down the waiting room. Eros was sitting upside down on one of the chairs on his phone. Ares looked completely relaxed however, sitting cross legged on the floor with his eyes closed. No one had spoken in a while, but when Athena’s pacing got too close to Ares he broke the silence.

“Will you just chill out?” he said to her in a low tone.

“How can you be so relaxed right now?” she shot back at him.

“We’re in battle now, this is where I thrive” he said. Now that the silence had been broken, Hades took the opportunity to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while.

“Is that comfortable for you?” he asked Eros.

“Meh” said Eros as he shrugged.

“He’s been like that since he was little, chairs have always been a struggle” said Ares.

“No bisexual can sit in a chair properly, it’s a fact” said Eros.

“I didn’t know you were bi Eros” said Thetis. It was the first words she had spoken since they all left Zeus’ office.

“Duh, I’m the God of Sexual Love not Heterosexual love” he said. Thetis all of a sudden looked nervous for some reason.

“Oh right, I forgot you were the God of Sexual Love” she said quietly. Eros tore his eyes away from his phone to look at her.

“The answer to your unspoken question is yes, I can see that” he said to her. Thetis blushed, Hades didn’t think he had ever seen her blush like that. _What are they talking about?_

“So, Hades, talk to Minthe lately?” asked Thetis, a little too loudly for the space they were in.

“Not since we broke up, no” he responded. He really didn’t want to talk about this, but something in Thetis’ expression said she wasn’t going to leave this alone. 

“Oh, so you actually did it” she said. Hades was confused by her phrasing.

“What do you mean? Didn’t she tell you?” asked Hades.

“She’s not speaking to me right now” said Thetis. Her tone was sad, but Hades had had enough experience with Thetis to know that she was in now way genuine. “Something about something you said to her.” Hades sighed. _There it is._

“Listen Thetis, I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here, but what goes on between Minthe and I is none of your business” he said. Gods, he reminded her so much of Minthe sometimes, but somehow worse.

“None of my business how I’m suddenly down a friend because of something you said to her?” Thetis shot back, her tone now lacking all niceties.

“Enough” he said in a dark tone. “I’m not Zeus, you do not have the same leighway with me.” Thetis was silent for a moment.

“Yes, your Majesty” she said in a fake sweet voice, and then went back to her computer. Eros was looking at Hades with a devious expression on his face.

“What?” he growled at him.

“Sorry, I’m a slave for the drama” he said, and then turned back to his phone. 

Thetis was a big reason why Hades rarely came to see Zues at his office anymore. Why did she get to him so much? He always hated when Minthe hung out with her. It made her on edge, brought out the worst in her, and always led to a fight, or worse. There was just something about her fake sincerity that irked him, since he knew it was all a mask. 

The door to Zeus’ office slammed open suddenly and Zeus and Persephone were standing in the doorway. Peresphone looked incredibly composed, but Hades could see a crown of green vines adorning her head, the same green vines she had when he had found her in Tartarus. She was rattled, he knew it, but she was doing an exceptional job at hiding it.

“You will have my answer by the end of the day” announced Zeus. He looked directly at Hades. “Happy?” he sneered.

“Content” replied Hades. 

“Thank you, my King” said Persephone to Zeus, and then walked towards the group. She didn’t stop when she got to them, she walked right passed them, right to the elevator. The four of them all followed, but Hades dragged behind, wanting to hear what Zeus was saying to Thetis.

“Call Apollo and tell him to get his ass down here pronto. If he gives you grief, tell him I’m ready to rip his Olypian status away so quick it will make his head spin.” Hades smiled, and then got into the elevator with the others.

“So what-?” started Eros but Persephone put up a hand to stop them.

“When we get to Athena’s” she said, speaking slowly and carefully. “I will tell you everything when we get there. And until we get there, I will stay strong.” The last thing she spoke sounded like more of a command to herself than anything else.

“Yes, you will” said Hades, in a way in which he hoped was encouraging. She smiled at him, letting him know that it was. When they got down the parking lot they all went to their respective cars, Persephone riding with Athena, all of them heading to Athena’s house, desperate to know what had happened between the Little Goddess and the King.

***

Apollo and Zeus were sitting in silence in Zeus’ office. They had been sitting in silence for several minutes. The silence was making Apollo uncomfortable. Zeus knew this, it was precisely why he was doing it. Finally, Zeus spoke.

“Do you know why I called you here today?” he asked. Apollo didn’t answer right away, taking a moment to consider.

“I’m guessing by your expression it’s not to congratulate me for a job well done?” said Apollo. He hoped his small attempt at humour would help defuse the situation, but Zeus’ remained as stone faced as before.

“No” he said. “You are here because earlier today some very nasty accusations were made against you, right here in my office.”

“Fuck” said Apollo under his breath.

“Ah, so you do know” said Zeus, sitting back in his chair.

“If this is about Persephone, she’s just confused, she doesn’t know what she’s saying” said Apollo.

“So you didn’t go into her room when she was sleeping and have sex with her?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“For Fates sake” sighed Zeus.

“Oh, are you policing where I stick my dick now?” said Apollo, his temper starting to get the better of him. “A little rich coming from you-”

“Silence!” hissed Zeus. Sparks were starting to appear near his temples. “Do you have any idea how serious this is?” he asked. Apollo didn’t answer. “Do you?”

“Can’t you just make this go away?” asked Apollo quietly, not meeting Zeus’ eye.

“Oh that I could” said Zeus. “But she has gotten people involved that have made that impossible.

“Hades” said Apollo, and Zeus looked at him in surprise. “It’s him, isn’t it? Look, I know he’s your brother, but he has been poisoning her against me for some reason, I bet he even put her up to-” Zeus raised a hand and Apollo stopped talking. 

“You don’t know my brother at all” said Zeus. “Besides, he’s not the only one you have to worry about.”

“You think I’m scared of Eros?” said Apollo defiantly. “I bet he’s in on this too.”

“And his father” said Zeus. This time Apollo was shocked, and a small bit of fear did begin to drip into him. “Athena too, both of them.” The fear was growing. The two sat in silence for a moment while Apollo processed Zeus’ words.

“Well this is a mess” he said quietly.

“No shit it is!” yelled Zeus. “You raped-”

“Woah! No! I did not rape her!” shouted Apollo. “She said it was okay-”

“You know what Apollo” said Zeus. “Just between you and me, I don’t give a shit if you tied her and gagged her, and I don’t give a shit if she begged for it all night. You should have known better!” Apollo said nothing in response, so Zeus continued. “For fuck’s sake Apollo, she’s 19, and supposed to join TGOEM.”

“Well she should have though-” mumbled Apollo but he was cut off again.

“No you should have though!” shouted Zeus, sparks starting to appear throughout the room now. “You should have thought about the consequences of your damn actions! This would have been a mess one way or another, and you should have known better! You’re an Olympian Apollo, smarten up!”

They sat in silence again for a few moments as Zeus calmed down. Apollo was at least smart enough not to say anything to him when he was that worked up. When the lights stopped flickering, Apollo spoke again.

“So what are we going to do?” he asked.

“Well now, that is the question, isn’t it?” said Zeus. Apollo shook his head, still in disbelief this was even happening.

“All of this for some B rate Goddess with barely any power” he said, his voice oozing with disdain.

“Oh, I wouldn’t underestimate her if I were you” said Zeus. “When she was alone with me today, I tried everything on her, I charmed her, I intimidated her, but nothing worked. That little goddess stayed her course. She’s certainly stronger than I thought, and definitely stronger than she looks.”


	7. Chapter 7

It was nearly 6pm, and there was still no word from Zeus. The day had been torturous for Persephone. Waiting, it appeared, was not her forte. Once they got back to Athena’s they attempted to have a next steps review, but Persephone could not stop manically pacing the room, which was starting to make Ares dizzy. He forced her to sit, but even seated she could stop fidgeting. When Ares realized it wasn’t just fidgeting, it was shaking, he dragged her down to Athena’s training room. This wasn’t just nerves, he said, this was adrenaline, and she needed to work it out of her system physically. They ran drills until Persephone was so tired she could barely stand, and then she took a nap in Athena’s spare bedroom. 

It was not a very long nap. She only got about 40 minutes of sleep before she woke up in a panic from the nightmare she was having. Back in the greenhouse, a hundred pairs of eyes were looking in on her, gawking at her, judging her, casting cruel looks upon her. The walls of the greenhouse were closing in on her, her space getting smaller and smaller. Everywhere she looked there was someone she knew. She could see mama, she could see Zeus, all of her friends. When she barely had even enough room to turn around she found Hades’ eyes, and they looked so disappointed in her. She tried to cry out to him, but he turned his back on her, and then she woke strangled by fear. It took a moment to calm herself down, and then she headed back downstairs. She announced to the confused and concerned friends that she wanted to bake something, and then headed into the kitchen without further explanation. 

She loved baking, especially when she had things to take her mind off of. Baking was straight forward, very cause and effect. You follow the instructions, you make something wonderful. You could add your flair sometimes, little decorations maybe, an extra flavour if you were brave, but the chemistry of it all was constant, and Persephone loved that. In that moment, she needed that stability, and to be reminded that she could in fact make something beautiful.

Upon establishing the ingredients she had to work with in Athena’s kitchen, Persephone decided she would make chocolate cupcakes stuffed with peanut butter cookie dough, with peanut butter icing. The three different components of the cupcake would certainly each take time to make, and if she needed to kill even more time she could temper some chocolate and make a cute little decoration for the top. She made the cupcake batter, the cookie dough, did the first part of the assembly, and then got the cupcakes in the oven. As they were baking she started on the peanut butter icing. 

Athena didn’t have an electric mixer, which Persephone didn’t mind as she was used to baking without one anyway. She found a certain solace in beating the ingredients together, so much so that she mixed a little too hard. The bowl slipped from her grasp and landed on the floor hard, spraying peanut butter icing all over her. Persephone sat on the ground in front of the bowl, feeling defeated. There was icing on the floor and on the cupboards beneath the counter. She couldn’t even do this right. She felt the weight of the day crash on her, and tears began to stream down her face.

It was nearly 6pm, and there was no word from Zeus, and Persephone was sitting on the floor of Athena’s kitchen, crying, and covered in peanut butter icing.

“Kore, are you okay?” she heard Hades call from the living room. “We heard a crash and-” he cut himself as he appeared in the kitchen doorway and took in the sight of her. “Oh Sweetness” he said in a gentle tone. She could him fighting a grin. She supposed she was a little ridiculous right now. “What happened?” he asked. It was the tone of voice you used with a child who was having a meltdown because they fell down and had a tiny scrape on their knee. 

“I dropped the bowl of icing” she cried.

“I can see that” he replied. He found a spot on the floor that was free of icing and sat down next to her. “Is this really about the icing… or are you crying about something else?”

“What if I made a huge mistake?” she blurted out. “What if this backfires on me? What if Zeus doesn’t call a trial? What if he does and Apollo is found innocent? What if everything thinks I wanted him and that I’m a big slut for it? What if they think I falsely accused him and I’m the biggest bitch in the four realms? What if everyone turns their back on me? What if I just completely… ruined… everything…” Another wave of tears hit her and she began to sob again. Hades rubbed her back to comfort her, since her back at least didn’t have any icing on it. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen” he said as she continued to cry. “This could turn out so many ways. There even might be some people out there who think those things… some horribly misinformed people… but no one who loves you is ever going to think that. And all of us here know the truth, and we’re never going to stop fighting with you for that truth.” She had stopped crying now, his words giving her strength. “I can’t promise bad things won’t happen, but I can assure you that we’ll always be there for you if they do. We’ll never turn our backs on you, ever.” She looked at him for a moment. His eyes were so different from the Dream Hades, so soft and kind. 

“Promise?” she asked him.

“Promise” he replied. She gave him a watery smile, and then made a move to hug him, but stopped herself. 

“I’m still covered in icing” she said.

“Yes, yes you are” he said, chuckling. Persephone used her finger to scoop a dollop of it off her body and popped it in her mouth.

“It’s really good though” she said. She scooped up another dollop with her finger, and was about to eat it when she thought she should at least be polite and offer some to Hades after he comforted her like that. “Do you want some?” she asked.

“Umm… I don’t think…” he said, blushing deep blue. Persephone was confused, until she realized it looked like she was offering him to suck it off her finger.

“Oh! No! I didn’t mean off me” she said, blushing herself. “I meant from the bowl!” He began to laugh, and Persephone, in a wild fit of confidence, leaned forward and stuck the dollop of icing from her finger onto his nose. 

“Hey!” he said.

“That was for laughing at me” she said triumphantly. Hades used his own finger to scoop the icing off his nose and then put it in his mouth. Persephone watched as he sucked the icing off his finger, a warmth beginning to flood her.

“What?” he said. “Did I miss some or something?” Persephone realized she had been staring and blushed again

“Okay, get out of here so I can clean up please” she said, trying to hide her face. She realized she had also made some blue hydrangeas bloom in her hair. _Great_

“Are you sure you don’t want help?” he asked as he stood up. He held out a hand to help her up, and when she took she felt more flowers bloom.

“Totally sure, off you with you now” she said, half pushing him out of the kitchen.

“Okay, okay!” he said. “It was _really_ good icing by the way” he said on the way out, and then made his way back to the others. 

Persephone got as much icing off her as possible, and then assessed how much was left in the bowl. It looked like there was enough to salvage. The timer went off on the cupcakes, so she pulled them out of the oven. While they cooled she began to clean the icing off the cupboards and the floor, however she was interrupted by a voice coming from the kitchen window.

“Hey mama” called Hermes. Persephone jumped at the sound of his voice.

“You scared me” she said, and then headed over to the window. Persephone’s heart raced when she saw the letter in Hermes’ hand.

“Sorry” he said. “Letter for you from the big boss. Zeus mentioned you might be here but I’m a little surprised you are.”

“Athena’s helping me study, she has the best study strategies” said Persephone. Lying was starting to become second nature to her now. _Should I be worried about that? Maybe later._ “I’m baking her cupcakes as a thank you.”

“Gotcha, makes sense” he said. “Well this is for you” he handed her the letter, “and I must be on my merry way. Catch you at work, mama.” As soon as he flew off she ran into the living room where the others were seated.

“What the hell happened to you?” asked Eros when she burst in. She must have still looked a mess from her adventure with the icing.

“Who gives a fuck! Is that from Zeus?” asked Ares. Persephone nodded vigorously, too nervous to talk.

“Open it, open it!” said Athena excitedly. Persephone opened the letter, her hands shaking, and began to read out loud.

_Dear Persephone, Goddess of Spring,_

_This letter is in regards to the accusations you have made on March 30th against Apollo, God of the Sun and light, music and poetry, healing and plagues, prophecy and knowledge, order and beauty, archery and agriculture. This letter is to inform you that I, Zeus, King of All Gods, God of the Sky, lightening and thunder,_

“Oh my Gods, does he have to use all the titles?” complained Ares.

“Shut up!” snapped Eros.

_have decided to go ahead with the trial process in light of your accusations._

“Whoo!”

“Yes!”

“We did it!”

“Wait, there’s more” said Persephone. She was still cautious, but she couldn’t deny the excitement rising in her.

_Apollo has been informed of the accusation you have brought against him. Based on your claim that certain inappropriate photos of you had been taken by the accused, Apollo has been informed that should any photos of a pornographic nature involving yourself become public in any shape or form, he will be punished without trial._

“Oh thank you Zeus!” said Athena, relief in her voice. Relief was washing through Persephone too. Those pictures were always the wild car, and now they were null.

_In order to give both sides adequate time to prepare for the trial proceedings, have selected a trial date of May 10th_

“May 10th?” repeated Persephone. “But that’s over a month away!”

“5 weeks” said Athena, her expression skewed into one of concentration. “Zeus is probably hoping the extended time will give you time to reconsider, he’s probably banking on you dropping the whole thing… does it say anything else?”

“No, just signed Zeus, titles titles titles” said Persephone. “How am I supposed to survive 5 weeks, I barely made it through 8 hours!”

“Deep breaths” said Athena going up to her and putting her hands on her shoulder. “We’re not going to drop it, and 5 weeks will give us time to prepare for whatever gets thrown at us.” Persephone took a deep breath, calming down from her frenzy. “This is a win” said Athena, a big smile on her face. Persephone smiled back, the excitement of the rest of the letter coming back.

“This is a win!” squealed Persephone, and Athena pulled her into a big hug.

“I’m going to grab the champagne from the fridge!” said Athena. As soon as she let Persephone go Eros scooped her up in a hug.

“You did it!” he said excitedly, and when his grip loosened it was Ares turn to hug her. Finally, Persephone flung herself into Hades arms, holding him tight. In an act of sheer glee Hades lifted her high into the air. His face was the picture of joy as he looked at her, and she couldn’t help but have her heart fill with warmth watching him look at her like that. 

“What the hell happened to my kitchen?” said Athena when she came back into the room, breaking Persephone from the spell she didn’t know she was under. Hades gently set her back down on the ground. Persephone lifted her arms in the air, making the shrugging motion. Hades burst into laughter. “Alright, never mind, let’s just drink!”

Athena poured each of them a glass of champagne. When they each had a full flute, Athena raised hers in a toast.

“To the Little Goddess who took on a King, and won” she said. They all raised their glass, but before they could touch, Athena pulled hers back and added, “The fool will be no match after today.” They clinked their glasses, agreeing whole heartedly with Athena’s toast. They all drank and chatted for a bit, but once the first glass was done, their numbers began to dwindle. 

“Well, I need to get going” said Ares. “I’ve got a date tonight.”

“Oh, you and Aphrodite doing something?” said Persephone.

“No, although she is involved” replied Ares with a sinister grin.

“Wait, how does that…” mused Athena.

“No! Athena, you don’t want to know” said Eros. “Seriously dad? Gross!”

“Oh come on” teased Ares. “You want to know every detail about everyone else’s sex life, but as soon as it’s me and your mother-”

“You’re my parents, it’s different” said Eros. 

“If you say so. Later gators” he said as he left.

“I should probably get going too” said Hades. “I’ve been away from the office all day, I need to go make sure it’s still standing.”

“No, don’t go” whined Eros. “The champagne’s not even done.”

“He is right” said Persephone, who certainly wouldn’t mind if Hades stayed.

“If I have another glass, I won’t be nearly as productive as I need to be tonight” he said, putting on his jacket. Eros coughed a cough that sounded suspiciously like “workaholic”. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He came around and kissed Persephone on the top of her head. “I’m so proud of you” he told her. The champagne was making her feeling even more emotional than usual, so those simple words had her blinking back tears. “Okay, I’m off now, bye!” he said, and was gone.

“Well, I should probably get to cleaning the kitchen” said Athena.

“Are you trying to kick us out?” asked Eros. Athena looked up at the ceiling.

“Maybe” she squeaked. 

“It’s okay Athena, we’ve basically taken over your house since this started” said Persephone. “Let’s get going Eros.” They grabbed their things and made for the door. 

“Bye guys! So proud of you, Kore!” said Athena as Persephone and Eros headed out.

“Ugh, I’m not ready for the night to be over” complained Eros. Suddenly he gasped in excitement as an idea came to him. “We should go out!”

“Um, I don’t know about that” said Persephone. “I mean the last time I went drinking with you it didn’t end so well…” Eros got on his knees in front of her dramatically, pouting and giving her puppy dog eyes.

“I’m so sorry” he said. “Please, please forgive me!” Persephone laughed.

“Get up!” she said. “I was only kidding… mostly…”

“If anything, I owe you a good night out to make up for that experience” said Eros as he got back to his feet.

“Your argument has merit” replied Persephone. “But I’m still not sure… I don’t think Hestia would approve of me going out drinking with a _boy_...”

“Oh boo, Hestia’s not here” said Eros. “You’re in college, you’re expected to let loose a little. If you’re really that worried, we’ll go to this nice quiet bar I know, real low key.” Persephone considered. She did kind of want to experience actually having a fun night drinking, since she could barely remember her last experience. “Okay, let’s do it!”

“Yay!” squealed Eros, throwing his arms around Persephone. “This is going to be so much fun!”

***

Hades got home just after 11pm that night. He had a mountain of paperwork waiting for him when he arrived at the office. The bright side was since everyone had gone home already, he was able to get it done in peace. He phoned his dog walker at one point to feed and walk the pack so he wouldn’t have to worry about them. His only duty by the time he got home was to love them. He was exhausted, it had been a very emotional day after all. He heated up some leftovers from his fridge and ate them without really registering what they even were. After he put his dishes away he sat himself down on his living room couch and started to close his eyes, not even bothering to get undressed. As he drifted to sleep he thought about Persephone’s face when he licked the icing off his finger. _Did I really turn her on?_ His head swam with thoughts of her and icing, and potential ways to eat it as sleep took him where he sat.

He was jolted awake what felt like minutes later by the ringing of his phone. He lunged forward to the coffee table where he had left it. As his eyes came into focus he saw it was nearly 1am, and Ares was calling him. That was unusual.

“Hello?” he said, no hint of sleep in his voice.

“You need to come pick up Persephone right now” he said, his tone serious. Fear gripped Hades suddenly.

“What happened? Is she alright?” asked Hades frantically.

“Oh, she’s fine” said Ares, and Hades let go the breath he was unaware he had been holding. “Her and Eros and just very drunk and very loud and she needs to get home.” Hades let out a half chuckle in relief.

“Why can’t you take her?” he asked. 

“Because Aphrodite isn’t home so I am currently the only sober adult in a house full of children” replied Ares, sounding increasingly stressed. “Come on man, I just got all the kids down when those two chuckle heads come home. I can’t understand what they’re saying under the best of circumstances and now it’s like they're speaking in tongues. I’ve got to be the responsible adult here and you know how much I hate that!”

“Okay, okay” said Hades. “I’m on my way, just calm down.”

“Thank you” said Ares, relief clear in his voice. “I’ll see you- Kore! No! Give that to me! No knives-” and then the line went dead.

Hades was out the door in a flash. He had already decided to go as soon as Ares had told him Persephone needed him, but he just liked giving his nephew a hard time. Normally Ares was the trouble maker, being the one who has to maintain order was not his happy place. As Hades drove down the dark street’s towards Aphrodite’s house he remarked this would be the second time he was taking responsibility for an intoxicated Persephone who got that way with Eros’ help. Although from the sounds of it she was more conscious than the last time, so this would certainly be interesting.

When Hades arrived at the house, Ares opened the front door for him before he even had the opportunity to knock. “Thank Gods” he said and then ushered Hades inside. “They’re in Eros’ room now, but I had to stop Persephone from cooking earlier, it was not fun.” Ares lead Hades into the living room and started to gather things up. It looked as if Persephone had strewn the contents of her purse everywhere. Hades could hear muffled voices coming from upstairs, and Eros appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Hades!” he whisper shouted. “Oh my Gods, we were just talking about you!”

“You were?” he asked. He couldn’t help but get a little nervous with that.

“I’ll go tell Persephone you’re here, she’ll be so happy!” He turned away. “Persephone!” he shouted, and Ares twitched.

“Shut up!” he whisper shouted at his son.

“Oops” said Eros. “Apparently we’re really loud.” Eros disappeared around the corner.

“Do you see what I’m dealing with?” said Ares as he continued to shove items into Persephone’s purse.

“I feel your pain, I’m usually the one dealing with my brother when they’re like that” replied Hades.

“Oh man, I bet my father is a nightmare” said Ares with a snicker.

“Zeus is actually pretty much the same drunk, just less charming and more handsy if you can believe” said Hades. “It’s Poseidon you have to watch. He’s always finding some way to get into trouble. One time he tried to climb Tower 1.” Ares let out a snort.

“And how did that work out for him?” asked Ares.

“Surprisingly well, he got about halfway up” said Hades. “And then he got distracted by something and fell off.”

Just then the unmistakable sound of two drunk people lumbering down a set of stairs rang through the house. Eros and Persephone walked right past Ares and Hades as they made their way towards the front door.

“Stop” called Ares, and the two of them froze. Ares went up to them. “And where do you think you two are going?” They turned around. 

“Tacos, duh” replied Eros. “How could you not know that, couldn’t you hear us since we were being so loud?”

“Shh, Eros, don’t be mean” said Persephone in a voice that was even higher in pitch than normal. She seemed to be in a constant state of giggles as well.

“You are not going to get tacos” said Ares, unimpressed.

“Uuuuuh, yeah we are” said Eros. “We gotta!”

“It’s our birthright!” said Presephone, a little louder than before.

“Yeah, what she said!” added Eros, the volume rising again.

“Sit! Down!” shouted Ares, pointing towards the living room. Neither of them moved, but exchanged a quick look between them.

“Look who’s using his dad voice” said Eros.

“More like _daddy_ voice” Peresephone practically crooned, and then erupted into a fit of giggles

“Ew! Gross!” exclaimed Eros while giving Persephone a lighthearted push. “I am texting your boyfriend right now and telling him you said that.” Persephone brought her hands to her face in sudden shyness.

“Hades isn’t my boyfriend” she squeaked. At this point Hades had realized that despite Eros seeing him, the pair had no idea he was there.

“Sweetness?” he called from the living room. Persephone peered around Ares. She gasped when she saw Hades sitting there. Her eyes went wide and a huge smile came across her face.

“Hades!” she squealed in delight. She bounded over to him and launched herself into his lap.

“Oh my Gods Hades!” whisper shouted Eros in the exact same tone as before. “When did you get here?” Persephone was now running her fingers through Hades hair and gently touching his face.

“Five minutes - stop - five minutes ago” said Hades. Gods Persephone was distracting. Why did she have to be so adorable? Eros was giving Hades a blank look. “You saw me and - seriously, you have to stop now - said you were going to tell Persephone?”

“I vaguely remember that” mumbled Eros.

“Hades!” said Peresephone. She had given up on his hair and was now squeezing his forearm. “Eros said he thinks you’re wasting your emotion.” Confused, Hades looked to Ares to see if he could shed any light on this. Ares was pinching the bridge of his nose.

“They saw Mamma Mia last week, I don’t know” he said, but it was enough for Hades to make a little sense of this.

“Not only that, I think he’s been sharing his devotion” said Eros in a somewhat triumphant manner. Persephone gasped.

“Why would you say something so controversial, but so true?” said Persephone in a breathy tone. Now it was Eros’ turn to gasp.

“Oh my Gods, you memed!” he said.

“Get her out of here!” growled Ares. 

“Okay, time to go” said Hades as he stood up with Persephone still in his arms. 

“Noooo” she whined and held a hand out to Eros.

“Wait, Persephone” called Eros as he ran up to take her hand. “I know we haven’t known each other that long but you’re like, my best friend.”

“Oh my Gods” said Persephone. She sounded like she was about to cry. “You’re my best friend.”

“I love you!”

“No, I love you!”

“And I love silence, so let’s get going” said Ares. Hades let out a laugh as he carried Persephone out the door.

“You came to get me” she said to him as he carried her to the car.

“Yes, yes I did” he replied.

“You like me” she said. Hades didn’t reply to that, but he could feel his cheeks beginning to darken. Ares had followed them out and opened up the passenger door.

“Watch your head” he said to her as he gently placed her on the passenger seat. He made a move to grab the seat belt but her hand was already there.

“I can do it” she said. 

“Okay, okay” he said in a mock defensive tone. He closed the car door and then turned to Ares.

“Thanks for coming to get her” he said. Hades expected him to start walking back towards the house but he didn’t. “You know she’s crazy about you, right?” Hades didn’t answer, he didn’t quite know how to. “She deserves to be happy after all the shit she’s been through.”

“Where is this coming from?” Hades asked.

“Just… don’t fuck this up, okay? She’s a good one” said Ares. “And, uh, you deserve to be happy too.” Hades and Ares didn’t always get along, not since Ares was a kid. That was about the nicest thing Ares had said to Hades in many, many years.

“Thank you Ares” said Hades.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m getting mushy in my old age” said Ares as we began to walk back towards the house. “I’ve got a reputation to maintain.” Hades sighed and shook his head. He got into his car and pulled out of the driveway.

“Sooooo” sang Persephone has Hades drove through the dark streets. “Are you going back to your house?”

“No, I am taking you home” said Hades. By Gods he would do the responsible thing here, as much as he didn’t want to.

“Nooooo” whined Persephone. “I can’t go home this drink, Artemis might get mad.”

“Well I am definitely not taking you to my house” said Hades. “We are not doing that again.”

“Can you at least take me somewhere to sober up a little?” she asked. Hades thought for a moment. He should take her right home, he knew that, but he just couldn’t say no to her, especially not when she was being this cute.

“You are going to be the death of me Little Goddess” breathed Hades.

“Is that a yes?” asked Persephone.

“It’s a yes” said Hades as he pulled a U-turn and started driving in the opposite direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have waited 6 chapters to get to drunk Persephone and I am so happy we're here folks.
> 
> PS. The reason I had Hermes start calling her "mama" is I 100% hear Hermes with the voice of Greg Cipes AKA Beast Boy from Teen Titans/Teen Titans GO


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First (?) kiss
> 
> Also brunch shenanigans

On the long stretch of road that connected the Kingdom of Olympus and the Kingdom of the Underworld was a diner. While technically The Diner was on the Olympus side of the border, the diner felt that it was in both realms, and neither realm at the same time. It was a resting place, a meeting place, a waiting place, and attracted all sorts of folks from all walks of life. It didn’t matter who you were at The Diner, you walked in and you were just another patron. No one knew The Diner’s name, although everyone knew that it had one. Everyone just called it The Diner. It held such a strange and specific aura that Hades had long suspected there were actually five realms; Oylmpus, The Underworld, The Ocean, The Mortal Real, and The Diner.

This where Hades took Persephone. At first she drunkenly complained about the lack of tacos, but when she saw the triple chocolate belgian waffles topped with fresh strawberries she perked right up. Hades also ordered her a big glass of water, and instructed the waitress to keep them coming. When her food arrived Persephone ate ravenously. Then she drank the entire glass of water, another one thankfully appearing almost as soon as she was finished the first. She continued until she got about halfway through the waffles, and then she began to slow down. The giggles were beginning to fade, the feverish grin falling from her lips, and when she started to poke dispassionately at her food, Hades knew she was starting to sober up.

“Is everything alright with your waffles?” he asked.

“Oh no, they’re great it’s just…” she trailed off. She looked up at him, sadness in her eyes. The look broke Hades’ heart, he hoped he hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’m so sorry about all this, you don’t need to be dealing with me right now…”

“Hey” he said tenderly as he reached across the table to take her hand. “You know I’d help you anytime, any place, no matter what.”

“I know, but…” she said as she pulled her hand away. The simple act felt devastating. “I still feel bad about wasting your time over nothing, you’re too important for that.”

“You’re important” he said so quickly it nearly cut her off. She turned away from him to look out the window. “I’m serious Kore, you’re important to me, never forget that.” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “I didn’t do anything tonight to make you think-?”

“Oh no!” she assured him. “No, you were trying to be the gentlemen, I was the one who broke literally every boundary.”

“Not every one” he said. “You did not text me after 9pm, so I would call that a win.” Her face broke into a smile, and Hades felt a wash of relief flood him upon seeing that smile. He reached his hand back across the table but stopped it part way, giving her the opportunity to take it if she wanted. She put her hand in his and he gave it a squeeze. “And for the record, time with you is always time well spent.” She blushed deep crimson at his words, and little white flowers he didn’t recognize began popping up in her hair.

“Admittedly I’m still kind of embarrassed you saw me like that” she said.

“Don’t be” he said. “You are literally the cutest drunk person I’ve ever seen.”

“Really?” she said.

“Absolutely” he replied. “And besides, now we’re even.”

“Even?” she said, confused, and Hades realized he was talking about something she didn’t know he knew about.

“Um, from when I showed up drunk to your mother’s estate when Hecate was staying there” said Hades, now his turn to be embarrassed. 

“Oh, uh, I didn’t think you would have remembered that” said Persephone.

“Well, uh, I don’t really” he said, trying desperately to think of something to say that didn’t make him sound like a total creep. “Hecate mentioned it to me.” _Nailed it._

“Oh” said Peresephone, sounding almost… relieved? “Well that makes sense.” After that she had a few more bites of her waffles and finished her water. “Well, Your Majesty, I think it’s time for you to take me home” she said. He could hear the fatigue starting to creep into her voice, so he couldn’t agree more. She reached for her purse and began to riffle through it.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m getting my wallet” she said. Hades shook his head and sighed, smiling. Anyone else he would take anywhere would assume he’s paying, he was a King of course he would pay. But not her, she never presumed anything like that, and it made her that much more perfect.

“It’s already taken care of, Sweetness” he said. She looked up at him with a slightly annoyed look.

“When did you do that?” she asked.

“They know me here, they have an account they can charge” he replied.

“You really come here that often?” she said. He shrugged.

“I like this place.” They left The Diner, got into Hades’ car, and began to drive towards Artemis’ place. Hades loved driving late at night, so many less cars on the road.

“So I have to ask” he said as they got closer to the city. “What was with the ABBA lyrics?” 

“Oh, that” said Persephone. She let out a bashful giggle. “It’s nothing, Eros just took me to see Mamma Mia for the first time last week and we were just joking around. Count yourself lucky it wasn’t ‘Does Your Mother Know’.” Hades began to sing the song in his head and he quickly realized the joke.

“Right, yes, I do remember that song” he said, trying to think of something else to say. The lyrics were hitting a little too close to home right at this moment. “I do enjoy a musical from time to time” said, hoping to change the subject slightly.

“Really? I would not have guessed that” said Persephone, surprised.

“I’m quite the fan of the work of Stephen Sondheim” he said. “Excellent composer, although not for everyone admittedly.”

“Well I’m always up for new things” said Persephone. “What musical of his should I start with?”

“Definitely ‘Into The Woods’” replied Hades. He loved the idea of him and Persephone sharing this. “It’s arguably his most popular.”

“Is it your favourite?” she asked.

“No, that would be ‘A Little Night Music’” he said. “But I have been quite partial to ‘Follies’ lately.” He pulled into Artemis’ driveway, the drive seeming to be much shorter than he remembered. He didn’t want the night to end. Persephone undid her seat belt but didn’t get out of the car yet.

“Thank you for tonight” she said. 

“Anytime Sweetness” he replied with a smile. She turned to get out of the car but then paused. Then, so fast Hades barely had time to register what she was doing, she turned back, leaned across and kissed him.

The kiss was soft and sweet. The warmth of her lips against his was setting his nerves on fire. He had to stop himself from taking more than she was giving him. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to lose himself in her. He wanted nothing more than to have this moment last forever.

And then, almost as soon as it began, it was over, as Persephone pulled away. And then Hades’ brain caught up with him.

“Persephone, I-” he started, but she cut him off.

“It’s okay” she breathed. “That’s all I wanted.” She turned away, got out of the car, as Hades fought the urge to reach back out to her. Before she closed the car door she leaned back to him, a triumphant smile on her face. “Now we’re really even.”

“Wait, what?” said Hades, dumbfounded, as Persephone closed the car door. He got out of the car and called to her as she walked towards the front door. “Persphone, what do you mean we’re even?” She turned back as she walked into the building, that coy smile still on her lips, and gave him a little wave. “Persephone?” he called one more time, but it was too late, she had closed the door. 

Hades got back into his car, his moment of sheer bliss now one of total confusion.

“What in the four realms just happened?”

***

Persephone woke the next morning feeling relatively good. She was a bit groggy, her mouth was a little dry, and she had a touch of a headache. All in all not bad after the amount of alcohol she consumed. What she really had to worry about were her actions from last night. While a little embarrassing, she could forgive herself for being a fool with Hades while still at Eros’ house, she was pretty drunk then, but she was relatively sober by the time he dropped her off home. She still couldn’t believe she did what she did, and while the logic part of her brain was yelling at her, the rest of her couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of it. She had kissed Hades, and it was magical.

“What are you wearing?” asked Artemis when Persephone walked into the kitchen. Persephone giggled, remembering which pajamas she had opted for.

“It’s a onesie” she replied. “I bought it online, so it’s a little tight in some places, but look…” Persephone put the hood up. “It has ears!” Artemis sighed. “What?”

“How are you this adorable?” she asked.

“It’s a gift” replied Persephone, putting the kettle on for a morning cup of tea.

“Where were you last night?” asked Artemis. “You didn’t get home until late.”

“I was hanging out at Eros’ place” said Persephone. Not a total lie, she was at Eros’ for a portion of the evening. “We lost track of time.”

“You’re looking a little rough this morning” commented Artemis. Peresephone shot her an unimpressed look.

“I may have had a few drinks while I was there” replied Persephone. Now it was Artemis’ time to give her the unimpressed look. “Don’t give me that look.”

“You need to be careful, Perse” said Artemis. 

“It’s just Eros” countered Persephone.

“Yeah, and do you remember the last time you-” started Artemis, but Persephone cut her off.

“He apologized for that, and there were other things going on” she said. Artemis didn’t look convinced. “Please don’t lecture me again” she said quietly. Artemis’ gaze softened.

“I’m not going to lecture you, it’s just…” she trailed off. Persephone was getting a little concerned, it wasn’t like Artemis to not know what to say. “I feel like we’ve barely spent any time together lately… I know you’ve got your own thing but… I miss you roomie.” Persephone threw her arms around Artemis without hesitation. “Gah, too much affection!”

“Suck it up” said Persephone. She pulled away, and Artemis looked a little embarrassed but was still smiling. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something” said Persephone, getting an idea.

“Sure, anything” replied Artemis.

“I was thinking… Could you teach me archery?” asked Persephone. Artemis instantly perked up.

“Wh-what? Really?” she stuttered.

“Yeah! I mean, it looks really fun and interesting, and it would be a great way to spend time together” said Persephone.

“Yes, yes! Totally!” said Artemis, excited. “Listen, I gotta run, going to be in the Mortal Realm until tomorrow morning, but tomorrow will be you and me on the range all day. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect” said Persephone. She gave her friend another hug, and then Artemis left. Persephone was excited. She hadn’t really thought about it until that moment, but with all the other training she was doing, it just made sense. Not only that, but with all this going on with her brother, Persephone realized she had been unconsciously avoiding Artemis for the past little bit, and she did miss her. This would be so much fun.

After she finished her tea Persephone got dressed. Eros was picking her up for brunch soon, apparently a tradition after a night of drinking. She put on the silver dress Eros had bought her the last time they went shopping, liking the feeling of the flowy skirt. The way it was pleated reminded her of some of her mortal clothes, it felt like the perfect marriage between we two wardrobes. Eros picked her up not long after that, and the two of them headed to his favourite brunch spot, taking seats on the patio to take advantage of the sunny Saturday morning. 

“You’re looking a little tired this morning” commented Persephone when they got seated. It was an understatement. Eros had bags under his eyes and his hair was still a total mess.

“I don’t wear hangovers well” he replied. “It didn’t help that my dad was being a total dick this morning, yelling up a storm for no reason, getting the kids all riled up, it’s like he was doing it on purpose.”

“I’m pretty sure he was” said Persephone.

“What about you?” asked Eros.

“I’m a little dehydrated, but that’s about it” said Presephone with a coy smile.

“How is that even possible?” asked Eros.

“You did have more to drink than me” said Persephone innocently.

“But you can’t hold your liquor nearly as well” countered Eros. A suspicious look crossed his face. “Does this have anything to do with what you and a certain someone got up to after you left my house?” Persephone blushed.

“Maybe” she mumbled. 

“Spill!” he demanded.

“Well there’s really not much to say” said Persephone. 

“Did you go back to his place?” asked Eros keenly.

“No, although I tried to get him to take me” she said. “But he was the gentleman, as always.”

“Makes sense” said Eros. “Hades isn’t the type to bang the drunk chick.”

“Eros!” said Persephone, shocked. “Even if we had gone to his house, I wouldn’t-”

“Relax” said Eros. “In this case I only meant itas a figure of speech referring to taking advantage of someone when they are in a compromised state.”

“Obviously, I knew that” said Persephone, a little embarrassed from her over reaction. “Anyway, he took me to go get some food so I could sober up some.”

“If you tell me you got tacos, I’m going to be so jealous right now” said Eros.

“No, we went to some place called The Diner” replied Persephone.

“I know the place.”

“I got triple chocolate waffles, Hades made sure I drank a bunch of water, we talked for a bit, and then he took me home.” Persephone was smiling. She knew Eros would flip when he heard what she was about to say next. “Oh yes, there was one other teensy weensy little thing… I kissed him!”

“Whaaaaaat?!” said Eros, his mouth stretched into a huge grin.

“I know!” squealed Persephone. “I am both mortified and so proud of myself at the same time!”

“How was it?”

“So nice.” A dopey grin was starting to form on Persephone’s lips as she remembered. “I mean it was short, but so sweet.”

“What was his reaction?” asked Eros, hungry for every little detail.

“Um, surprised, I think” said Persephone. “I kind of went inside right after, so I don’t totally know.”

“I bet he loved it” said Eros. 

“Admittedly, it was in total contradiction to pretty much all of my goals regarding this whole thing” said Persephone, voicing some of the thoughts her logical brain had been thinking all morning. “I may have made a huge mistake even…” She trailed off, getting momentarily lost about how this may have messed everything up, but she quickly brought herself back. “But I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I am working at taking things on step at a time.”

“Here here” said Eros. He raised his mimosa glass in a toast, and Persephone clinked with her own (which was really just orange juice in a champagne flute). “For the record, I think you did good making a move.”

“Weren’t you team boundaries last week?” said Persephone.

“Hey, I am not on any team, if anything, I’m on team Persephone” said Eros. “I am team do-whatever-makes-you-happy, and boundaries weren’t making you happy, and TGOEM is certainly not making you happy… but Hades… he’s making you happy.” Eros’ phone, which was sitting on the table, started to ring. Eros picked it up, peering at the caller ID. “Speak of the devil” he said, with a mischievous glint in his eye. He hit the button to answer the phone but held it out in front of him, letting Persephone know he had put it on speaker.

“Good morning, your Majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure?” sang Eros. 

“Eros” came Hades’ smooth voice from the other side of the phone. “How are you?”

“Just peachy, and you?” said Eros.

“A little tired actually” said Hades pointedly. “I’d like to talk to you about this pattern of you getting Persephone drunk and me having to take care of her.” 

“‘Having to take care of her?’” repeated Eros. “Goodness, you make her sound like such a chore.”

 _What is Eros doing?_ thought Persephone.

“You know that’s not what I meant” replied Hades.

“I know what you mean” said Eros. “First time you can entirely blame my mom, and as for last night, Ares was the one who called you, not me.”

“Because I doubt you could have worked your phone in the state you were in” said Hades.

“Oh come on Hades, it couldn’t have been that bad” said Eros. “The way Persephone tells it, you didn’t mind at all the way the night turned out, isn’t that right Persephone?” Persephone was mortified at being dragged into this, but she supposed that’s why Eros put the call on speaker to begin with.

“I mean, I thought so” said Persephone for lack of anything else to say. There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Oh, did I forget to mention you were on speaker phone?” said Eros with fake innocence. “Silly me.”

“I’m getting another call” said Hades, almost in a growl. “You better sleep with one eye open, you little love god.”

“Oooh, I’m so scared” said Eros sarcastically before hanging up. “Actually, I’m really scared,” he admitted.

“Serves you right for messing with him” said Persephone. “And why did you have to drag me into it?”

“Because it was perfect” replied Eros. “And you know I’m physically incapable of passing up an opportunity like that.” Persephone gave him an unimpressed look, to which Eros responded with puppy dog eyes.

“You’re ridiculous” said Persephone, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah, but you love me anyway” said Eros, satisfied. Eros then pulled his phone back out quickly. “Don’t move, you look real cute in this light.” He snapped a quick picture, and then showed it to her. 

“Aw, that is a nice picture” she said. The dress looked especially good in the sunlight, and with Persephone not actually looking at the camera it looked like an artsy candid shot. Her hair looked surprisingly good as well, seeing as she had such a hard time wrestling it into her classic space buns.

“Can I post it?”

“Sure.” After a minute, Eros smiled at his phone.

“Oh, would you look at that.” Eros turned his phone around so Persephone could see what he was looking at. “Hades has already liked it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for 100 Kudos! Like I said in the summary, this is my first fic so I'm super happy that people are liking it!
> 
> Also, some added listening for this chapter (not required)
> 
> "Losing My Mind" from Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LibYSV0hMEM


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter this time
> 
> Trigger Warning: flashbacks of the rape, panic attack, PTSD symptoms

“Good morning, young blood.”

Hades was sitting in his office, having just gotten off the phone with Eros, not in the best of moods. He was going to kill him for getting him with the speakerphone trick. But his mood shifted immediately when he heard the voice phoning him on the other line.

“Lachesis” he said, his heart starting to race. “Good morning.”

“That memory you requested is ready” she said, and a wash of excitement flooded over him.

“Yes, great, I’ll come by right now and get it” he said quickly.

“Don’t forget the wine” said Lachesis.

“I won’t” he replied and hung up. He went over to one of the cabinets and pulled three bottles of good wine he kept in there for emergencies. “Ha ha! She said ‘now we’re really even’! Well now we’ll find out what that means, won’t we?!” Hades was barely registering that he was speaking out loud until a voice coming from his office doorway interrupted him.

“Sweet Gaia” said Hecate. Hades turned to see her standing just outside his office with some files in her hands. “Is it finally happening? Are you having the psychotic break?”

“No” he replied, and then hurried past her.

“Where are you going?” she called after him.

“Tower 3, I’ll explain later.”

He took the elevator down a few levels so he could get to the covered bridges that connected all the buildings. His phone buzzed as he walked along the bridge between Tower’s 1 and 2. Balancing the three bottles of wine he pulled his phone out of his pocket to see it was a Fatesbook notification. Apparently at some point he turned on a setting to notify him whenever Persephone had an activity on her timeline. He figured Poseidon must have done that. Poseidon was a wiz on social media and Hades didn’t care enough to learn. Eros had tagged Persephone in a photo of her at brunch. She looked so beautiful in the spring sunlight. He gave the photo a like. Just as he was putting his phone away he ran into someone, nearly tossing the wine he was carrying. He managed to save the bottles, and when he turned to help whoever it was he was given a shock.

“Minthe?” he said, surprised, as the river Nymph gathered the files she had dropped.

“Um, hi” she said.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” he had to admit, he was nervous seeing her again. _I thought she quit,_ he thought. _Wait, why am I the one who has to be nervous? She’s the one who-_

“Just because I’m not your assistant, doesn’t mean I don’t work here” she said. When Minthe was embarrassed she didn’t blush. Instead, she gritted her teeth and refused to look at you. This is what she was doing now.

“Oh” said Hades. “So, where are you working now?”

“I’m an office manager down in accounting” she said, still not looking at him.

“But you’re not-”

“I don’t need to be an account to manage the office” she said. Hades had no idea what to say next, and it seemed neither did Minthe. They stood there awkwardly for what felt like forever before Hades finally broke the silence.

“Well I should-”

“Yeah, me too.”

She walked quickly away from him, keeping her head down the whole time. _Well that was awkward._ Hades restarted his frantic march towards Tower 3. He supposed he should have expected as much. It was a big company after all, and Minthe did have skills beyond being a PA. Hades just made himself a mental note to avoid accounting even more than he already did.

When he finally made it to Tower 3 he rushed right into the Fates’ office.

“Young-!”

He slammed the three bottles of wine on the counter.

“Blood.” Lachesis picked up one of the bottles. “This is a nice vintage.” Clotho and Atropos came over as well.

“A bottle for each of us?” said Clotho. “Aidoneus, you’re too kind.” Hades smiled at them.

“It’s the least I could do” he said. Lachesis had the tape in her hands. She started to hand it over to him, but then pulled it away.

“Remember, we’re doing you a favour here letting you see this” she said.

“I very much appreciate it” he replied.

“Make sure to have it back first thing Monday.”

“I promise.”

“The late fees are a nightmare.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She regarded him with suspicion, and then slowly placed the tape into his ready and waiting hand. He smiled wide when she finally handed it over.

“Thank you so much” he said, and then hurried out of their office. 

He didn’t go back to his office after that. He left Tower 3 and went directly down to the parking garage, got into his car, and drove home. When he got there he had to wade through the pack, who were all over the moon about the fact that daddy was home so early. Hades put the tape into his VCR. _See Zeus? It does come in handy sometimes, so there!_ Once he sat down on the couch, the dogs all fought for a coveted spot on the couch. After the kerfuffle, Mushroom ended up on one side of Hades, J.P. on the other, Pomelia in his lap, with Fudge and Big John curled up around his feet. Once everyone was settled, Hades pressed play.

_Hades was lying on a bed, sleeping softly, in a room he had only been in once before. It was a small room, but worked fairly well as a spare bedroom. There was a bedside table, and a small dresser, but the main feature of the room was the bed. It was large, and round, covered in pillows, and had a delicate gossamer canopy hanging above it. Hades looked as if he had been unceremoniously tossed onto the bed, as he was sleeping in a position that in no way looked comfortable. He was sprawled out, his chiton shifted so it was barely covering him, one arm up at a strange angle, but still he had a dopey grin on his face, and was sleeping soundly. He could hear voices coming from outside the door, voices he knew belonged to Demeter and Hecate, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. The only other thing of note about the room was the large window._

_After a few moments of just Hades sleeping, a small pink hand appeared on the window sill. Then suddenly, Kore was there, pushing herself up and through the window. Her hair was cut short, the way she liked to wear it most of the time. The chiton she was wearing had a neckline that exposed a decent amount of her breasts, perhaps having been displaced in the climb, or perhaps it was just styled that way. Either way, as she crawled into the window, she was not taking her eyes off Hades, a curious look about her. Once she was fully in the room she started to tip toe closer to him, but then suddenly, the voices outside stopped talking._

_“Sugar snaps” she said under her breath. The door began to creak open and in a flash she transformed herself into a dazzling pink butterfly._

_“No, he’s still passed out” said Hecate, who had opened the door. Kore fluttered over to Hades and landed on his head._

_“Well thank Gaia for that” said Demeter from the hallway as Hecate closed the door. Then their voices faded as they walked away down the hall. Kore beat her wings slightly, and Hades sleepily reached up to his head, shooing away whatever was tickling him. Kore flew away to avoid him, but then landed right back down, exactly where she was before. Hades tried to shoo her away again, this time making a groaning sound as he did. Once more Kore flew up to avoid his hand, and then landed on his head again. When Hades went to swat at her a third time, she flew off his head and hovered in front of his face._

_“Will you stop that” she said, in a voice even more higher pitched than normal. Hades eyes shot open at the sound._

_“Who said that?” he asked. His voice was groggy, both from alcohol and from sleep._

_“I did” said Kore. Hades looked around, clearly searching for the source of the voice. “Over here” she said as he continued to whip his head frantically. “Right in front of you.” Finally, his eyes settled on the pink butterfly. “Hi!”_

_“Hello” he said cautiously. She flew in a little closer to him, so close Hades had to cross his eyes to continue looking at her._

_“You smell funny” she said finally._

_“It’s called booze” mumbled Hades, unimpressed._

_“You look funny too.” She flew up and landed on the top of his head. “Your hair’s a total mess, why is that?”_

_“Hey, I’m _actually_ a king” he said, pushing himself up in the bed. His displacement caused Kore to abandon her perch on the top of his head. “I don’t have to take crap from a little butterfly”_

_“Yeah, well, you might be a king, but you still look stupid” said Kore, fluttering in front of his face again. “Besided, I’m not a butterfly, I’m _actually_ a powerful goddess.”_

_“Sure, and I’m Helen of Troy” said Hades sarcastically._

_“I am!” she asserted._

_“Oh yeah? Prove it” challenged Hades._

_“I really shouldn’t…” said Kore bashfully._

_“Then I’ll just go back to sleep” he said, a wicked smile on his face. He yawned loudly and closed his eyes. “Goodnight, little pink lunatic.”_

_“W-wait” she stuttered, and then with another flash Kore transformed back into herself, landing on the bed on her hands and knees, leaning towards him. “See?” Hades stared at her for a few moments, his face a mask of shock, and then he spoke._

_“Oh fucking fantastic, you’re just the most beautiful creature in the universe!” said Hades, annoyed at himself. “Why didn’t you lead with that?” Kore was smiling and blush now, her hands on her cheeks._

_“Oh stop it, you’re just saying that” she said sweetly._

_“I would never” said Hades, in a clear attempt to recover. Kore crawled closer to him, looking him up and down._

_“On second look, your face isn’t _that_ stupid” she said. Hades snorted. “Dorky, for sure, but not stupid.” She leaned in even closer, her eyes wide, their faces only inches apart. “You’re actually kinda handsome.” _

_In a sudden motion, Hades leaned towards her, pressing his lips against hers. At first Kore was shocked, but then her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into him, even tentatively placing a hand on his chest. After another moment she broke the kiss. She had a warm smile on her face as Hades looked at her adoringly. But then, as if just realizing what had happened, just let out a little gasp and covered her mouth with her hand in shock._

_“My apologies little goddess” said Hades in a low gravelly tone. “I couldn’t help myself.”_

_“It’s okay” Kore said with a giggle._

_“No, it isn’t” replied Hades. “I’ve been incredibly rude to you tonight.” Hades looked away from her, his face beginning to blush deep blue._

_“Well you’re a king, you get to do that” she replied innocently._

_“That’s no excuse” he said, and looked back at her. “Especially when in the presence of someone as fair as you.” Kore giggled again._

_“Good Gods you’re a flirt!” she said. Hades chuckled._

_“Guilty as charged” he admitted. Suddenly Kore’s gaze shot around to the door, having heard footsteps and voicing getting closer._

_“I should go” she said in a serious tone. She turned back to him and smiled. “Nice meeting you Mr. Funny King.” Another flash, and she was a butterfly again. She fluttered her wings and landed on the top of his head once more._

_“Nice meeting you, most beautiful creature in the universe” said Hades as he closed his eyes, falling back to a soundless sleep._

***

Persephone used the rest of her Saturday to catch up on studying. She had a lot of reading to get done before Monday, plus she had a quiz in microbiology on Tuesday she really needed to ace. Since Artemis wasn’t there she took over the living room with her laptop, books, highlighters, and cue cards. She put some music on using her phone, and lost herself in her work. By the time it was time for her to get to bed, she was pleasantly surprised at how much work she managed to get done. She had her groove back, and she was feeling good. 

She took a shower before bed and did her best to give herself a fresh haircut, saying goodbye to the space buns and hello to the pixie cut. She changed into her pajamas, but she wasn’t too tired yet. She crawled into bed, but instead of going to sleep yet, she decided to read. She had had enough of her text books for one night, so she picked up a book of poetry she hadn’t read in a long time. The words were so familiar and comforting, she was so happy she could enjoy them again. Eventually she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, so she put the book away. She got out of bed, turned off the light, and closed the door to her bedroom. The door didn’t latch properly, but she didn’t notice, she just got back into bed. Then, because it wasn’t latched, the door creaked open on it’s own, making a sound that filled Peresphone’s ears.

The sound it made that night.

Persephone’s heart started to beat so fast she thought it would beat out of her chest.

_Persephone… Persie… I came to see you, silly._

She felt like she couldn’t breathe, she was sweating and shaking. She didn’t understand what was happening, how was this happening again.

_I’ve been waiting for this all day._

The sheets on her bed felt like they were strangling her. She kicked and fought against them until she was free, but she fought so hard she ended up falling out of her bed and onto the floor. 

_You’ve been flirting with me all day, Persephone… Don’t act like you don’t want this._

Tears were streaming down her face, she could barely see. She frantically crawled away from her bed as fast as she could, curling up into a ball in the corner of her room. She was terrified, she felt like she was going to die, why was this happening?

_Come on, Persie. I thought you were more mature than this-_

_Noooo! Not again!_

She tried to scream but nothing came out but a strangled cry. She was all alone. No one could hear her. She was going to die. She needed help, she needed…

Through the haze of the terror she remembered. She slammed her hands down on the ground twice as hard as she could. 

Then she shut her eyes as hard as she could, and prayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tape scene was based on an old Lore Olympus short Rachel drew when the comic was migrating to the "Featured" section on webtoon. I thought it was adorable, so I really wanted to incorporate it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Panic attacks
> 
> The techniques that are used in this chapter are in no way the only/right way to get through a panic. There are several ways to get through a panic attack, these are the ones that have worked for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have this chapter up sooner but I rewrote the last conversation like 12 times.

Hades felt the pull of his summoning as if his entire essence was being dragged into the void. He knew it was, as he always did when he was summoned, as it was her hands pulling him along towards her. He closed his eyes and let himself be taken into nothingness. After a few seconds he felt himself make contact with reality again.

“Persephone?” he called, as he opened his eyes. He didn’t recognize the room he was in, but he assumed it was her bedroom. He didn’t see her at first, but when his eyes finally found her the sight filled him with fear. “Kore!” She was curled up in the fetal position in the very corner of the room. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she was shaking.

“Hades!” she gasped when she saw him. He rushed over to her, kneeling in front of her. “I don’t… I don’t know… wh-what’s happening!” Her breathing was erratic, she could barely speak.

“You’re having a panic attack” he said, recognizing the symptoms instantly from his own experience. “It’s going to be okay, you-you’re going to get through this.” He took a deep breath, calming himself. He needed to be calm for her now. “I need you to do as I say, got it?” She nodded, although it was a struggle for her to do even that she was shaking so much. “Close your eyes.” She shut her eyes tight. “Listen to the sound of my voice, only the sound of my voice.”

“Okay” she croaked.

“We’re going to focus on your breathing” he said in a low, steady tone. “We’re going to breath through the mouth, in for four, hold for one, and out for four. We’ll do it together. Ready?” She nodded. “In, two, three, four. Hold. Out, two, three, four.” It took several of these, but eventually her breathing started to settle out. “Good! You’re doing really well!” She managed to give him a small smile. She was still shaking though, her fingernails were digging so hard into her legs that he thought she might draw ichor soon. “Okay, now I want you to focus on your body, and what you’re feeling, physically. Focus on your feet on the carpet, can you scrunch your toes?” She complied. “Good! Now feel your butt on the floor.” Without telling her, she started to wiggle her butt from side to side, pushing it into the floor. As she did this her hand began to relax. “Can you feel your sit bones, how your weight shifts between them?” She nodded, biting her lip.

“Yes.” Her voice was so much more relaxed now. Her arms let go of her legs, and Hades moved so there was room in front her.

“Stretch out your legs.” She did, slowly, until they stretched out in front her. “Wiggle them out, push them into the floor. Focus on the sensation of the carpet on the back of your legs.” Her face was relaxing as well, and instead of her eyes being forced shut, they were lightly shut. She pushed her hands into the carpet as well, curling and relaxing her fingers. “You’re doing amazing, Sweetness. You’re safe, everything’s going to be okay.” Her eyes fluttered open. She no longer looked terrified, but she was clearly still shaken. She slowly brought a hand to her cheek, and Hades realized that she needed tissues. He looked frantically around and then spied a box on her bedside table. He grabbed the box, but instead of handing it to her, he pulled some tissues out and dabbed them on her cheek, drying her tears. She closed her eyes and leaned her face towards him, giving him a tentative smile.

“Thank you” she said quietly. She opened her eyes again, and the look she gave him was so soft and sweet, he couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“I’m going to go get you a glass of water now, okay?” he said. Her brow instantly furrowed in concern. “It’s okay, Sweetness” he said to her, trying to dissuade her fears. “You’re safe here, nothing can hurt you.” After a moment, she nodded, a signal he was allowed to go.

He had only been to Artemis’ house once before, but he found the kitchen easily. He opened cupboards until he found the glasses, filled one with tap water, and then headed back to Persephone’s room. When he got back he saw that she had stood up, but he could see she wasn’t too steady yet.

“Easy now” he said as he rushed over to her. He put one hand on her shoulder to steady her. “Here, sip this” he said as he handed her the glass of water. She smiled appreciatively as she took the glass and had her first sip.

“I just don’t understand what happened” she said in between sips of water. “I had been doing so well, I don’t get why this is happening all of a sudden.”

“Did anything happen that may have triggered-?” Hades started to ask, but her eyes going wide told him she had her answer. 

“The door creaked” she said in a low voice, staring off into space. “I didn’t close it properly, and it creaked open. It was the same sound it made that…” She trailed off. She took another sip of water she she blinked away the tears that were starting again.

“You started having flashbacks, didn’t you?” asked Hades gently. She nodded. 

“How did you know?” she asked. Hades sighed. It was hard for him to talk about.

“I’ve had my fair share of panic attacks” he admitted. 

“Is that how you knew to do all that stuff?” she asked. He nodded. He didn’t like sharing this with people, but he thought it was important for her to hear she’s not alone in this. It certainly would have helped him to hear that when he was in the worst of it. “I’m really glad you’re here” she said. She finished the last of her water, and then looked around Hades. She cringed at whatever she saw, and Hades turned to see she was looking at her bed. “Artemis won’t be back until tomorrow” she said, still staring at her bed. “I really hate to ask, but I don’t think I can sleep here tonight, can I-?”

“It’s okay” he said, interrupting her. She tore her eyes away from the bed to look at him. “You can stay in my guest room tonight. I wouldn’t want you to stay here by yourself anyway.” She gave him a warm smile. He took the glass from her hands and placed it on the nightstand. Then he pulled her in close to him. “Hold on tight” he murmured, and then let himself be pulled back through the darkness.

***

It was the strangest feeling Persephone had ever experienced. She felt as though she had entirely dematerialized, like she was only particles in space, and yet she knew she had to be solid because she could feel Hades the entire time. As soon it began, it was over, and when she landed back into reality she found herself in Hades living room.

The pack went out of their minds when they saw her, running over to her, separating her and Hades with the force of their excitement. Persephone immediately sat down on the ground and let them drown her in puppy love. “Gentle, gentle!” said Hades, as some of them seemed to be getting too riled up.

“It’s all good, don’t worry” said Persephone, feeling so much better than she had 5 minutes ago. There was no healing quite as powerful as an animal’s love. 

“Do you want me to run you a hot bath?” asked Hades. “They always help me.”

“That sounds lovely” replied Persephone.

“Okay, you stay here, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Cerberus had brought Persephone a ball. She tossed it down the hall, and all the pups (except Pomelia and Cordon Bleu, who were sharing her lap) ran after it. Cerberus got to it first, and Persephone thought he may have an unfair advantage over the rest of them. She tossed the ball for them a few more times before Hades got back. 

“I’ve got the bath started” he said. “Why don’t you come with me?” She got up and followed him up the stairs. He led down to the last door down the hall, a door she soon found out lead to his bedroom. 

His bedroom was much like the rest of the house, clean lines, and a minimalist aesthetic. His bed was huge, and was in the centre of the right hand wall as she walked in. The bed was impeccably made, and the bedding was slate grey. The wall facing her had huge windows, and there was also an entrance to a balcony. On the wall next to the door was entirely closets. She was sure if she opened them everything would be overly organized. There were two bedside tables that flanked the bed. They had lamps, and one of them had a book on it, but no pictures or personal items to speak of. In fact, there didn’t seem to be anything personal about the room at all. It felt almost… utilitarian. It was a place to sleep, and that was about it. Hades led her to a door on the left wall as they walked in, which led to an ensuite bathroom. 

“Woah” she said as she walked in and was greeted by the biggest bathtub she had ever seen. “Is that a bathtub or a second swimming pool?” she asked, teasing. Hades shrugged.

“I’m a big guy, I need a big tub” he replied. He walked over to a skinny closet that looked like it had been custom built into the small space between the bathtub and the far wall. When he opened it Persephone could see an array of different bath products, the sheer volume of which surprised her. “If you want something for the bath, I suggest something with lavender, it’s a very soothing scent.”

“Why do you have so much bath stuff?” she asked him. He blushed when she asked him the question, which made Persephone start to giggle.

“Oh, you know, female companions and, uh…” he was stuttering, and it was amusing Persephone to no end. “Okay fine, I love baths and smelling nice, there, you happy?” 

“There’s nothing wrong with that” Persephone assured him, but she was still giggling. “Nothing you need to be embarrassed about.”

“Then why are you laughing?” he asked.

“Because you’re funny” she said. Hades gave a smirk then that she didn’t quite understand, but decided not to ask about. He pulled a bath bomb from the closet and handed it to her.

“This is one of my favourites, give it a sniff and see if you like it” he said. Persephone inhaled and was met with the relaxing scent of lavender, as well as an unmistakable sense of familiarity. 

“Where did you get this?” she asked.

“A little boutique here in the Underworld” he replied. “Why, do you like it? I could have some sent to you.”

“No, it’s not that” she said, smiling knowingly. “Do you know where they source their ingredients from?” She could tell Hades was confused now.

“No… why?”

“Because I grew this lavender” she finally confessed. 

“Are you sure?” asked Hades, surprised.

“I’m sure” she said, giving the bath bomb another smell. “I can always tell my plants.” If Persephone thought he was blushing before, it was nothing compared to now. Persephone was a little confused at first until she realized. “And you said they were one of your favourites.”

“Heh, heh, yeah” he said, giving her a bashful smile. “Um, anyway, if you changed into one of the robes hanging on the door, I can throw those pajamas in the wash.”

“Huh?” said Persephone. Was it just her, or did he just follow up her flirting with laundry? And why did her pajamas need a wash? She sniffed her shirt and the unmistakable smell of swear met her nose. “Oh, right” she said, remembering she had basically sweat through them. She noticed three robes of different styles hanging on the back of the bathroom door. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He left then, closing the door behind her. She stripped out of her dirty pajamas and selected the plush midnight blue robe. She drowned in it, it was so big, but she was certainly covered. By the time she handed her pajamas to Hades the bath was nearly full. She turned off the tap, dropped in the bath bomb, and stepped into the steaming water.

The scent of the bath bomb was perfect, her lavender washing over her, comforting her, and reminding her of home in the best possible way. Hades had drawn the bath so hot that it nearly burned, but she loved the way it made her skin tingle. The bathtub was so deep the water nearly touched her chin. She found a spot in the tub to settle in, let her head loll back on the edge of the tub, and closed her eyes. Everything was melting away, the bath was doing its job. 

She stayed in long after her skin got pruney, only getting out when the water was actually beginning to go cold. She dried herself off with one the spare towels she found, wrapped herself in the plush robe, and headed back into the bedroom. When she got there she saw Cerberus waiting for her on the bed. 

“Good puppy” she said to him as she went over and gave him a scritch behind the ear. She noticed that Hades had left one of his hoodies on the bed, folded up and waiting for her. She changed into that, however thankful she hadn’t accidentally handed him her underwear to be washed too. The hoodie came down to her knees, so she felt sufficiently covered. 

Cerberus lept of the bed then. He headed to the bedroom door and then looked back at Persephone expectantly. “Am I following you then?” she asked playfully. Cerberus was not amused. He padded out of the bedroom. “Alright, alright” she said, following the guardian down the hall. Cerberus turned into a room that was a few doors down from the bedroom, and when Persephone entered she realized this must have been Hades’ home office. The entire room was lined with book cases, and in the middle of the room was a desk with a typewriter. “I’m not sure I should be in here” she said to Cerberus, but he ignored her. He made his way to the desk, and stopped in front of one of the drawers which had been left open. “I’ll just close this and be on my merry way” said Persephone, but then she spied something in the drawer which drew her attention; a letter with her name one. 

Persephone picked up the letter cautious, like it was going to explode at any moment. It was addressed to her, but sitting in Hades’ desk drawer. She shouldn’t read it, he clearly didn’t mean for her to have it. But it _was_ addressed to her. Maybe she could peek, and then put it right back. She unfolded the letter and then began to read.

_Dear Persephone,_

_My therapist assigned me the exercise of writing letters of what I would hypothetically tell others about what I’m feeling. Apparently doing this…_

Oh no. This was definitely not meant for her. She refolded the letter exactly as it was before. She went to go put it back in the drawer, but she didn’t let it go. Something stopped her. 

_I still have no idea where I stand with him_ she thought, the letter still in her hand. _I was honest with him, I told him about my feelings, as hard as it was. And he… hinted? Implied? Certainly gave me the impression that… but if I read this letter, I’d know, I’d know exactly how he feels about me…_

Persephone bit her lip, trying to quiet the voice in her head. She knew it was wrong, but she had to know.

“Screw it” she said out loud, and then read the rest of the letter.

***

Hades was sitting on the couch in his living room, reading some detective novel. It was pretty straight forward for a novel of that genre, and didn’t take a lot of his brain power to read. He had heard Persephone drain the bath a little ago, he was surprised she wasn’t down yet. 

“Kore?” he called. “Everything all right?”

“Y-yes!” she called back.

“Did you find the sweater I left you?” he asked.

“Got it!” she said. She sounded nervous, he wondered why. “I’ll be down in a minute!”

“Take your time.” He went back to reading, but his mind wasn’t on the book anymore. Was this too much? He wanted to take care of her, but he didn’t want to overstep, make her feel uncomfortable at all, especially after what she had been through tonight.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her come down the stairs, Cerberus at her heels. _Oh Gods._ She was the picture of effortless beauty. The bath clearly lifted her spirits, as she had a warm smile on her face and seemed to glow from the inside out. Her hair was only just passed her shoulders, the length looking so cute on her. He noted that her hair hadn’t totally grown out of control from the panic attack, maybe she was getting better control on her power. He had hoped giving him an oversized sweater of his would help, but it had the opposite effect, she looked incredible somehow. He wanted to see her in that sweater everyday for the rest of eternity. He wanted to tell her how amazing she looked, how she was so brave, but instead he said…

“Looks like you’re feeling better.”

“Much” she said cheerily, and then walked over and sat on the opposite end of the couch as him. “That bath was incredible, I feel like a new woman!” She looked at him with a serene smile, and he was so happy that she was feeling so good, and that he could help. But as they looked at each other, her expression began to change. Her smile began to fall, and a hint of worry entered her eyes. 

“What?” asked Hades, suddenly concerned. She didn’t answer, she just looked away from him, biting her lip. “What’s wrong?” he asked, now starting to get a little afraid.

“Oh Hades, I did something bad” she confessed. Hades' heart began to beat fast. What could she have done? 

“What did you do?” he asked slowly, trying to steady his tone. He needed to be calm, he had to make sure she felt safe to tell him… whatever this was.

“I… I…” She was struggling, this must be really bad. “I read the letter!” she finally blurted out. Hades was confused, he honestly had no idea what she was talking about. “The one in your desk drawer, the one addressed to me.” Oh, right, that letter.

_Oh fuck._

“I’m so sorry” she said, her voice cracking slightly as she said it. “I don’t know what came over me, I just-”

“You can’t just go snooping through my things” he said in a hard tone. He was still shocked, and he was saying the words, but he felt like he should be more angry than he actually was. Why wasn’t he angry?

“I know, I’m sorry” she said. 

“Why were you in the office in the first place?” he asked. Should he feel betrayed right now? This was certainly an invasion of privacy. If Minthe had done this, he would have been livid. He was certainly feeling something, what was it?

“I, um, I followed Cerberus in there” she mumbled. ““The drawer was just left open and I saw the letter with my name on it-”

“That doesn’t mean it was meant for you.” Gods, he really wanted a smoke right now. 

“I know, and as soon as I started reading it I knew it wasn’t but…” she trailed off. She was holding her knees to her chest now, she looked scared. “I just got so in my head about things and… that’s no excuse, especially after everything you’ve done for me, I just-”

“Wait, what were you in your head about?” he asked. He didn’t know why, but he needed to know what exactly had compelled her to keep reading.

“What?” she asked, stunned by his question. “Nothing, just stuff, it doesn’t matter-”

“I want to know” he said. She bit her lip again, and then covered her face with her hands. Was this really so hard for her to say?

“I guess…” she started. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “I still don’t totally know where I stand with you.” While her words made sense as to why she might read the letter, he was still shocked. It was so obvious to him how he felt about her, how could she not see it? “I mean, I certainly have an idea but… the reality is, you know exactly how I feel about you… because I said it, you know? And I started thinking about how you didn’t _say_ and…” she covered her face again, too embarrassed to go on. He didn’t know what to say in response. He felt terrible that he had caused such turmoil for her. 

“Well…” he started, hoping his brain would come up with something. “Now you know” he said gently. _Really, that’s all I could come up with?_ Her head snapped up, and she looked at him with a shocked and slightly curious expression.

“Why aren’t you more angry?” she asked.

“Wh-what?” he stuttered, feeling like he’d been caught. “I’m angry, of course I’m angry.” She shook her head slowly.

“No…” she said, looking confused. Hades took a deep breath, giving into whatever this feeling was that wasn’t anger.

“I don’t know” he confessed. “I guess… I’m feeling…” he struggled to put whatever this was into words, but suddenly it came to him. “Relieved.” Persephone looked just as shocked as he was about what was coming out of his mouth. She pushed herself up so she was kneeling on the couch and leaning towards him.

“Your letter said that you tried to put space between us” she said, much more animated than she was before

“Yeah, well, you see how well that worked” said Hades.

“Exactly” she said. She was starting to sound… excited? “And, and I tried to put space between, and look where we are now!” She paused, waiting for him to speak, but he was only just starting to get what she was getting at. “I mean, isn’t that a sign?”

“Kore” he said. His tone was steady, rational, it made some of the light in her eyes fade. “Just because I’m not with Minthe anymore, doesn’t make all the other reasons why we shouldn’t be together go away.” He expected her to be more disappointed by his words, but he surprised her with what she said next.

“But what if it did?” she asked. “I know it sounds crazy, but what if, just for this moment, we forget about all that stuff. What do you really want?” He was prepared to do the right thing, the responsible thing, but as soon as she asked that question, his mind flashed to his dream. His dream of her, of their family, of a life together he never knew he was craving until now. His desire took over, and before he could stop himself, he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

The kiss was spontaneous, passionate, and quick, much like their kiss from the night before. Hades was the one to break it, once the rest of his brain had caught up with what he had done. But Persephone was clearly not satisfied with that, diving in to continue their embrace, pressing her lips to his. Her desire for him washed away any inhibitions he had, and he let himself be lost in her touch. Her lips parted under his, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue brushing hers. She gasped when she felt it, but it only excited her more, her hands lacing their way into his hair. Tentatively, her teeth grazed his bottom lip, giving it a little nibble, which ignited a hungry deep inside him that he had been desperately trying to repress. His hands moved to her waist and he pulled her closer to him, and it was Persephone who made her way onto his lap, straddling him. He wanted to touch her, to feel all of her. His hands began to move downwards, but when they touched her hips, it happened.

She gasped again, but this time it was not out of pleasure. Her spine straightened, and her entire body went stiff beneath his touch. He instantly moved his hands away from her, kicking himself internally. He had pushed her too far, this is exactly what he was trying to avoid. Almost as if she could hear his thoughts, she spoke.

“No, it’s okay, I'm okay” she said, but he wasn’t buying it, her voice was shaking.

“No, you’re not” he said gently. She hung her head and sighed.

“But I want to be” she said sadly. She leaned back into him, but not to kiss him, to put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, one hand stroking her hair.

“I love the way you treat me, and I want to feel that way all the time” he said, quoting the revision to his letter. “But we can’t ignore reality, as much as we want to.” She lifted her head to look at him, her expression one of resignation.

“So where does that leave us?” she asked. “Because I don’t know if I could continue to just be friends, but I also don’t want to lose you.”

“I know what you mean” he said. He watched as her expression changed, lifting slightly as she considered what to say next.

“I know reality sucks” she said, and he chuckled at her understatement. “And I know we have a lot of things to figure out… but wouldn’t it be easier if we figured it out together?” Her last words were tentative, but filled with hope. 

“Everything’s easy with you” he said. 

“So what do you say?” He wanted what she was suggesting, he wanted it so much. He was overwhelmed with happiness, his face breaking into a wide smile.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Little Goddess” he said playfully. Her face lit up, a hopeful smile appearing on her lips.

“Is that a yes?” she asked.

“It’s a yes” he replied. She gave an ecstatic squeal and threw her arms around his neck. He squeezed her tight, letting his excitement consume him. She leaned back and kissed him again, and she could feel her lips still pulled into a smile under his. “Do you have any idea how happy you make me?” he asked when she broke away. 

“Probably close to as happy as you make me” she replied. She tried to stifle a yawn then, but Hades caught it. He glanced at his watch, it was past 1am. 

“I think it’s time for bed” he said. She nodded and then slid off his lap. “You know, you don’t have to sleep in the guest room… if you don’t want to” he offered.

“Your Majesty, are you offering to take me to bed?” she asked. Although her tone was teasing, he still blushed a little, which made her start to giggle.

“Only for sleeping” he replied as he scooped her up into his arms. She gave a surprised squeal, but then relaxed into his arms.

“Hmm, that sounds nice” she said. He carried her all the way to his bed, placing her gentle down. He kissed her on the head as she gave him a sleepy smile, and then he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and do what he needed to do to get ready for bed. She must have really been exhausted, because by the time he came back she was already snoring softly. He didn’t know why he was surprised, but it was the cutest snoring he had ever heard. He got into bed, and it didn’t take long for sleep to take him as well. When he woke in the morning he found her in his arms, the contours of her body pressed into his. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's sex ed with Eros!

**One Month Later**

Persephone and Eros were sitting on a grassy hill, just outside of the city, watching the sun set over Olympus. They had put together a little picnic, Persephone having put together the food, and Eros bringing the drinks. They were sitting on Persephone’s favourite picnic blanket that she had brought from home in the Mortal Realm and sipped their drinks.

“I’m so glad we did this” said Eros. “I feel like it’s been forever since hung out.”

“I know, right?” replied Persephone. “The only time I get to see you is at Athena’s house for meetings, but we don’t get time to really talk.”

“Sooo…” sang Eros. “How are things going between you and His Majesty?” Persephone tried to hide her deep blush by turning away from him. “Oh come on, I know you haven’t told anyone yet, you can’t hide stuff like that from me, it’s physically impossible.” Persephone pursed her lips, she should have known better.

“Things are really good” she said, smiling. In truth, the past month had been the happiest of her life. 

“Do tell” said Eros expectantly.

“I mean, there’s not a _huge_ amount to tell” she said. “We’ve been taking things slowly.”

“Right, makes sense, because of-”

“Because of a variety of reasons” said Persephone, cutting him off. She did not need reminding of what the reasons were, she had gone over them enough. “And honestly? Not the least of which is the fact that I have been crazy busy this past month. I mean, I’ve got class, I’ve got class, I’ve got training with Athena, Ares, and Artemis, I’ve got our meetings, I’ve got therapy twice a week, and somehow I’ve got to find time to actually study and do my assignments. When we do find time to get together, it’s most often me going over to his house, him cooking me food that isn’t ramen, and helping me study.”

“Aw, that's really sweet actually” said Eros. “Is, uh, therapy helping thought?’ he asked tentatively.

“Tremendously” she said. After her panic attack, she had dug out the card Eros had given her weeks ago and phoned. She had been seeing this therapist ever since, and she couldn’t believe how helpful it was. “I mean, I don’t freeze like a deer in the headlights when he touches me, so that’s good.” Eros looked a little awkward when she said, maybe she’d shared too much.

“Did that happen?” he asked.

“Only once” she said quickly. “And that was pre therapy.”

“So I’m guessing you haven't…” Eros trailed off, but Persephone knew exactly what he was talking about.

“No, not yet” admitted Persephone. “We have talked about it though. He really wants to make sure I’m ready, you know? Which I really appreciate.”

“Why am I sensing a ‘but’?” asked Eros. Persephone frowned. 

“Well, the other thing we’ve talked about is me exploring myself before we explore together as a couple” she said.

“That’s really smart” said Eros. “It’s important for you to know what you like so you can communicate that with a partner.”

“Yeah, I mean I get that” said Persephone. Eros was regarding her with suspicion. 

“How so how have the solo adventures been going?” he asked in a way that made Persephone think he already knew the answer. She hesitated before answering.

“They’re not” she confessed, and Eros gave her a disappointed look. “Okay, but, what I do have is a notebook, so I’m pretty sure that’s the next best thing.” Eros looked at her blankly.

“Okay, part of me is like ‘how is a notebook the next best thing’ but the other part of me really wants to see this notebook” he admitted. Persephone turned around to grab her backpack.

“Hold on” she said as she started to rummage through her other books to find it. “I never leave home without it, I’m so paranoid Artemis is going to find it.”

“Speaking of, how are you keeping all of this from Artemis?” asked Eros as Persephone continued to search.

“Hades and I only get together when she’s in the mortal realm overnight, that way she doesn’t notice if I’m out late. Aha!” she exclaimed, pulling the pink spiral notebook out of her back. She opened it up and Eros slid closer to her so he could see. “So I’ve been doing a bit of research on the internet and making notes here.” 

“Are you seriously approching your sex life like a research project?” he asked. Persephone ignored him.

“This section is all about the basics, you know?” she said, pointing to pages. “Best practices, tips and tricks....”

“I see you have ‘Always pee after sex’, that’s a really good one” said Eros.

“In that case, I will highlight it” she said, pulling a pink highlighter out of her bag and highlighting the phrase. “This next part is all different positions. That magazine, The Cosmos? They’ve been super helpful. I have notes and diagrams for all sorts of things I want to try-”

“Woah!” exclaimed Eros as he landed on a page with one of the more complicated looking positions. “You can actually get into that pose?”

“Of course I can” said Persephone, matter-of-factly. “I used to do gymnastics for years.”

“Guess you won’t be needing my yoga pass then” replied Eros. The comment he made so long ago finally landed on Persephone, and she gave him a playful smack on the arms. “Hey!”

“That’s what you meant by that?” she said. “Eros!”

“You’re the one with the sex notebook, and you’re hitting me?” he accused.

“Fair” she admitted, flipping forward in the book. “Okay this next part is all research I’ve done by consuming certain pieces of media-”

“Say it” said Eros. “You have to say it, I’m not moving on until you say it.” Persephone started to blush.

“Pornagraphic videos” she said quietly.

“Porn, Peresephone, you can just say porn.”

“Porn, okay? You happy?” Eros nodded, and Persephone sighed. “So I’ve made note of things that definitely turn me on, a few notes on things that I’ve found that really aren’t my thing. Also, a bunch of stuff I think would be fun to try, you know things that make me curious-”

“Sweet Gaia” said Eros, interrupting her again. His eyes were wide and staring at the page. She looked over to see what exactly he was looking at.

“Oh yeah, I wasn’t totally sure about that one, but I figured I could give it the good ol’ college if he wanted to” said Persephone.

“Yeah, maybe wait with that one” he said. He closed the book and looked at her, shaking his head. “So please explain to me how you can watch hardcore porn, but you can’t masturbate.” Persephone blushed again.

“I mean, I wouldn’t call it ‘hardcore’...”

“I would” he said, giving her a slightly smug look as he waited for her reply.

“Fine, if you must know… every time I go to do it I just feel super weird and awkward” she admitted. Eros took a moment to consider her words.

“Can you let you in on a little secret?” asked Eros. Persephone nodded. “Sex is weird and awkward.” Persephone cracked a smile at his words. “It’s true! It’s not like in porn, where it’s been perfectly staged and choreographed. Things go wrong. Body parts slip, you make weird noises, you hit your head on the bed frame. The thing that makes sex so amazing is doing it with someone who you trust and care about, even if that someone is just you and you.” 

“That makes a lot of sense” said Persephone. “The other thing though is, since I’m always with Hades when Artemis is out of the house, whenever I want to experiment with myself, she’s there. I mean, obviously she’s in another room, but still, it makes me feel…” She trailed off, not quite sure how to put her complicated feelings about TGOEM into words. While she was working on her plan to get out, she technically wasn’t out yet.

“Yeah, I get what you mean” said Eros. “I might have an idea…”

“Ooh, can I take notes?” asked Persephone, already grabbing her notebook. 

“You’re going to anyway, regardless of what I say, aren’t you?” he asked. Persephone clicked her pen in response, making Eros sigh in resignation. “Have you heard of mutual masterbation?”

“I think I read about that” said Persephone, writing ‘Mutual Masterbation’ at the top of a page. 

“So the premise is you and a partner masterbate in front of each other” continued Eros. “I mean, you can help out a bit, but the whole point is to get yourself there yourself. It’s an incredibly intimate experience, and takes a lot of trust in order to be that vulnerable in front of someone doing something you traditionally do all on your own. But, in this case, I think it might be a good solution. You can explore, hopefully without feeling too weird, and as a bonus, you can get a good look at how he likes to handle himself.” Persephone finished up taking notes.

“Thank you so much Eros, this sounds perfect!” she said. 

“I still think it’s important to explore by yourself though” he said. “I want to make sure your sexuality isn’t being tied to another being. Your sexual identity doesn’t suddenly exist now because you have a boyfriend. You are a sexual being regardless of anyone’s participation. Hades just happens to be lucky enough to be along for the ride.” Persephone smiled warmly.

“You’re the best Eros” she said, putting a hand on his knee. “I’m so glad we talked about this.”

“It’s what I do” he said, returning her smile.

“Okay enough about me now” said Persephone. “How are things with you?” She gasped, remembering something important. “How are things going with Psyche?” Eros groaned and covered his face with his hands.

“You had to bring that up” he moaned. Persephone cringed.

“So not good I’m guessing” she said. Eros gave her a sad look.

“Everytime I try talking to my mom about her, she either changes the subject, just doesn’t answer, or straight leaves. Yeah, one time she just walked out of the house.” He groaned again. “I’m actually starting to get concerned something’s happened to her.” 

“Like bad?” asked Persephone. Eros nodded, worry clear in his eyes. “Well, if it will make you feel better, I’m sure I could find out” she offered.

“How so?” he asked, curious.

“I work for the Underworld, I’m sure there’s some search I could do on my work computer to see if she’s there” said Persephone. Eros’ lit up. 

“You would do that?” he asked. Persephone nodded, and he threw his arms around her. “Oh thank you! If I could at least know she was still alive, I would feel so much better!”

“Now, I might need some additional info for the search” she said when he pulled away. “Why don’t you come by Tower 1 around 6pm tomorrow? We’re not supposed to bring outside people into the Library, but most everyone should be gone by then.”

“I’ll be there” said Eros, his normal cheeriness back. He got a wicked twinkle in his eye all of a sudden, it made Persephone nervous. “Hey, one more question about the notebook.”

“Yes Eros?” said Persephone, although she was slightly afraid of what he would say next.

“Why are all the tabs blue?”

***

Persephone made Eros the next night precisely at 6pm in the Tower 1 lobby. Just as she had suspected, the tower was mostly empty. It was amazing how quickly people could move when it was quitting time. 

“It’s kind of weird doing this the other way around” Persephone said off hand as she and Eros got into the elevator.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. Persephone smiled and blushed.

“Hades does this thing where every time I’m working, he happens to find an excuse to be in the lobby when I get in, that way we can ride the elevator uo together” said Persephone. Eros was giving her a look. “What?” she said.

“That is sickly sweet” he said. “Are you turning the King of the Underworld into a big softy?”

“He was already a big softy, he just needed an excuse” said Persephone. It was true. She was the sweetest man she had ever met, it made so many of the rumours about him seem ridiculous. 

“I knew it” said Eros. When they got to the 96th floor, they stepped out, and Persphone led Eros down the short hallway that led to the Library.

“Now, you have to be quiet, because, you know, it’s a library” she said to him. He nodded in agreement. Persephone turned to open the library doors, but then turned to face Eros again. “And don’t touch anything” she added.

“I won’t, scout’s honour” said Eros, putting a hand on his heart. Persephone rolled her eyes, opened the doors, and stepped into the Library. “Woah” she heard Eros say under his breath. Persephone expected this reaction, remembering how full of awe she was the first time she saw it too.

“Pretty incredible, right?” she whispered.

“More like eerie” said Eros. Persephone shot him an unimpressed look. She loved the Library, she didn’t understand why more people didn’t appreciate its beauty. “Also cool” added Eros in response.

“C’mon, my desk is over here.” They headed over to Persephone’s work space. It was clear which one of the three desks belonged to Persephone. Thanatos’ desk was immaculate, but lacked any personal touch. Hermes’ desk looked like a bomb had gone off. Persephone’s desk was organized, but had a few of her own personal touches here and there, including a small potted peace lily and a standing cork board to which Persephone had pinned several pictures of her and her friends together. There was one with Eros, one with Artemis, one with Hermes, and a picture of her and her mother. She wanted to put up a picture of Hades there, but that would have been too risky, so instead she had glued to the corner a flattened out pomelia flower.

“Cute plant” whispered Eros. “Did Hades get it for you?”

“How do you know?” asked Persephone. He was right, it was a gift from Hades.

“I can see both your energies mingled around it” he responded. He held out his hand for her to take. “Take a look.” She took his hand, and it’s like a filter was added to her vision. She could see strange colours and shapes that hadn’t been there before. When she looked at her peace lily she saw an intermingling of blue and pink light, dancing and weaving together.

“Woah” breathed Persephone. “Is this what you see all the time?”

“Only when I use my powers” he replied.

“And you can just show anyone you want?”

“That’s the power of relationship” he said, letting go of her hand. “I can lend my power to anyone with a single touch.”

“That’s so cool” said Persephone. She was so fascinated by the depth of everyone’s abilities, especially since she was still discovering the depths of her own. “We should get down to business, pull up the chair from Thanatos’ desk.” Eros grabbed the chair and tucked it next to Persephone’s, so they both could look at her computer screen. “So I’ve played around with the search functionality today, and it’s really not built for what we’re trying to do. I’m sure there’s a way to do it, but I haven’t worked here that long, so we’ll work with what we’ve got.” Persephone opened up the library’s search functionality, which she normally used to find where specific scrolls were stored. “Okay, so first name Psyche, last name?” Eros looked uncomfortable.

“I don’t know” he admitted.

“Okay, not the end of the world” said Persephone, skipping that section. She would need more info to narrow it down then. “How about date of birth?”

“Never came up” said Eros.

“Sweet Gaia, Eros, do you know anything about her?” asked Persephone.

“I’m sorry, she didn’t come with a user manual” he snapped. “Sorry, this is just stressful” he followed up with immediately.

“It’s okay” said Persephone, putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Do you know where she’s from? I might be able to narrow it down by location.”

“Yes, I actually do!” he said excitedly. He opened his mouth to tell her, but was interrupted by a voice from the Library entrance.

“Persephone?”

Persephone and Eros both snapped their heads up at the same time to see Hades standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, and an unimpressed look on his face. _Dammit_ thought Persephone. She was so sure everyone would have gone home, she forgot Hades was always the last one to leave.

“Looks like _someone_ has disappointed _daddy_ ” said Eros, teasingly. Almost on instinct, Persephone smacked him in the arm. “Alright, I deserved that” said Eros, rubbing the spot where he had been struck. Persephone must have hit him harder than she thought. “For the record, I’m very happy for you two” he said to Hades. Hades ignored him, looking only at Persephone.

“What is going on here?” he asked sternly. Persephone’s expression changed to sweet as she floated over to him.

“Darling” she cooed, and gave him a peck on the cheek. 

“Why is there an unauthorized person in the Library?” he asked, ignoring her attempt at endearment. 

“It’s a long story” she admitted, touching back down on the ground. “Basically, Eros is in love with a mortal, and he’s afraid something bad happened to her, so we’re trying to see if she’s a resident here in the Underworld.” Hades' expression was still hard, clearly her explanation was not good enough. “Actually, it’s a good thing you're here” she said, changing tactics.

“Is it now?” he said, placing his hands on her waist, pulling her closer, letting her know she was at least partially forgiven. 

“I’m having a bit of trouble with the search program, but I’m sure it would be no trouble for you” she said as sweetly as she could muster. Then she gave him her best pouty lips and puppy dog eyes.

“You know I can’t say no to you when you make that face” he said, trying to look away.

“I know, that’s why I do it” she said innocently. Hades smiled at her, even though she knew he was trying not to.

“Alright, let me take a look” he said. The two of them headed over to her desk and Hades took Persephone’s chair. He closed the program they were in, and brought up a program Persephone had no idea she even had on that computer. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with that mortal Aphrodite is passing off as a nymph?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, who’s doing what to who now?” asked Eros, his words coming out in a flurry. His eyes were wide staring at Hades, and his expression was almost accusatory.

“I thought you knew, she’s living in your house” said Hades.

“No! I did not know!” whisper shouted Eros, looking like he was about to explode. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m sorry” he said, his face a mask of determination. He got up and kissed Persephone on the top of the head, “Thank you.” He moved over and kissed Hades on the top of the head, which Hades clearly was not expecting, “Thank you.” He walked around Persephone’s desk towards the exit. “I have to go.” With that, he did something he didn’t normally do, which was disappear into a burst of violet light.

Persephone and Hades sat in silence for a moment, taking in what had just happened. Then Hades turned to Persephone, giving her an accusatory glare. She gave him a wide apologetic smile in response. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute” he grumbled, but then his face broke into a smile, and he gave her a quick but passionate kiss.

“I know” said Persephone when they broke away. Then in spite of herself Persephone let out a big yawn. She had been so exhausted lately, but she didn’t want to show it.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Sweetness?” asked Hades, looking concerned. “We don’t have to do dinner tonight if you’re too tired.”

“No!” said Peresphone immediately. “I’m good, and I’ve been looking forward to it all day.” After her chat with Eros the night before, she had big plans for their date.

“Alright” he said, stroking her cheek. He gave her a kiss on the forehead. “See you in an hour.”

“See you in an hour!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized too late I should have warned people about the time skip when I posted the last chapter... sorry folks! But I'm also changing the rating in this in anticipation of coming chapters. Things are starting to heat up!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we have smut. Persephone takes Eros' advice.

When Persephone walked into Hades’ house later that evening she was immediately met by the most delicious smell. The scents of tomato, olive oil, oregano, and cheese, danced around as she walked in the door. The dogs greeted her as usual, as Hades finished up what he was doing in the kitchen before meeting her at the door.

“What is that intoxicating smell?” she asked as he came over. He leaned down to kiss her before he answered, her nose was filled instead with the scent of him, of a forest fire in winter, a smell that had become the most comforting in the world.

“Eggplant parmesan” he responded. Persephone floated up to him so she could more easily wrap her arms around his neck while placing his hands on her waist.

“Wrong answer” she teased. He looked at her confused. “The right answer was you” she said, and then gave him another kiss. 

“You flatter me Little Goddess” he said with a warm smile.

“Only because you deserve it” she said. She floated away from him then and took a seat on top of his kitchen island. If had become where she always sat when Hades finished up dinner, so much that he kept a spot entirely clear for her while cooking. Hades followed her, and returned to what he was doing before she walked in, which was chopping up fresh basil. “So have I worn out your vegetarian recipes yet?” she asked as she watched him. Gods, he was handsome, and there was just something so sexy about a man who knew his way around a kitchen.

“Not yet” he said. “Although we might be getting close.”

“Well once this semester’s over and exams are done, I can cook for you” she said. “I am an excellent cook.”

“Of course you are” said Hades.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Persephone.

“Only that you’re perfect” he replied. Persephone blushed.

“I’m not perfect” she said, although she couldn’t help smiling when she said.

“Well you’re close as I’ve ever encountered” said Hades, looking up from his chopping to give her the sweetest smile. She loved the way he looked at her, like she was the most important being in the universe. “Speaking of exams” he said, breaking the small spell she seemed to have been under, “what’s on the docket for tonight? Microbiology? Biochemistry? Medical genetics?”

“Nothing!” said Persephone triumphantly, and Hades looked at her surprised. “I reworked my study schedule so I could have the night off. Tonight, I am all yours.” Hades abandoned the basil and came over to her, placing a hand on either side of her on the counter and leaning in close.

“I like the sound of that” he said seductively, and then his lips were on hers. This was not like their kisses from earlier, this was hungry, and Persephone was instantly leaning into it. Her lips parted under his and she could feel his tongue eagerly searching for hers. She had to keep one hand on the counter to steady herself, but the other hand went to the back of his neck, not wanting him to stop. She started to open her legs, an invitation for him to get even closer to him. The warmth was beginning to flood her, and she could feel herself getting wet already. She wanted to feel him against her, all of him…

The oven timer went off, and Persephone pouted in disappointment when Hades broke away from her. He looked equally frustrated with the timing, but gave her another quick kiss anyway and then pulled the eggplant parmesan out of the oven. While she did long for his touch, the food smelled amazing, and she couldn’t deny the rumbling in her stomach. She consoled herself with the thought that they had all night together, she had made sure of that.

Their frequent dinner dates over the past month had allowed them to settle into a familiar and comfortable routine. Persephone would set the table as Hades served whatever delicious meal he had cooked onto pre-warmed plates, a luxury he insisted on. Persephone would open a bottle of wine Hades had already selected to go perfectly with their meal. She pour them both a glass, and usually give herself a significantly smaller portion. She didn’t mind wine, but it was a taste she was still trying to acquire. She preferred the sweeter whites to the heavier reds, but even she could understand the need for a red wine with tonight’s meal. 

Their conversation was light during dinner, mostly consisting of how their day was. Peresphone did take the opportunity to share with him the rest of the story between Eros and Psyche, figuring he deserved that much after helping them out earlier. She neglected to tell him about the conversation she had had with Eros the night before however, wanting to save that as a surprise for later.

Their tradition when they were done with dinner was to indulge in an after dinner cocktail. Hades would clear their plates while Persephone would pour their drinks. A scotch for him, and an extra sweet elderflower soda with tiny but of gin for her. Once she poured Hades scotch though, her phone went off.

“Sorry” she said. “I thought I turned the ringer off.”

“No problem” he said. “You should probably check it, just in case. I’ll finish up with the drinks.” Persephone headed over to her bag which she had left near the door, dug out her phone, and took a seat on the couch. The text was from Eros:

**Eros bby: Where are you? I need to talk to you**

**Petal Power: On a date. Can we talk later?**

**Eros bby: Great! I’ll come over**

“Nooo!” said Persephone out loud as she began furiously typing a text back to him. Then there was a knock on the door. “Don’t answer that!” she yelled at Hades, but it was too late, he was already opening the door.

“Eros” said Hades. “What a pleasant surprise.” His voice sounded like it was the complete opposite, and as much as she loved her friend, Persephone had to agree.

“I can tell that you’re lying, and I don’t care” he said. He pushed past Hades and walked into the house.

“Please, come in” said Hades sarcastically. Eros ignored the comment.

“Do you have any vodka?” he asked. He was clearly distressed. “Never mind, I found it.” He went straight to Hades liquor collection, grabbed a full bottle of vodka, and began to drink directly from the bottle.

“Woah, slow down there!” said Persephone as he continued to chug. She had never seen someone drink that quickly. By the time he came up for air, half the bottle was gone.

“So I went home, and surprise surprise, Ampelus/Psyche was not there” said Eros. His voice was cracking weirdly, and Persephone wasn’t sure if it was a product of his emotional state or the fact that he just drank half a bottle of vodka in 6 seconds. “My mom was though, so I confronted her about it, and guess what? She didn’t even try to deny it!” He started to pace now, and Persephone and Hades exchanged a look between. Persephone was concerned, while Hades looked more exasperated. “She was just all like ‘well you asked me to take care of it’, like ya, but like, not like this!” He took another swig from the bottle. “And you know what the fucking kicker is? She won’t even let me see her now, can you believe that?” Another swig. “Apparently Psyche has yet to ‘prove herself’ whatever the fuck that even means! So my mom is putting her through the absurd tasks, and you know they’re going to be impossible because, news flash, my mom’s kind of a bitch-”

“Okay, Eros?” said Persephone, interrupting his rant. “Come here.” He came over and sat on the couch. 

“I’m just going to take that” said Hades, cautiously grabbing the vodka out of Eros’ hand.

“You know I love you, right?” Persephone said to Eros. Eros nodded. “And we are totally going to talk this out later, I promise, but right now I need you to go.” Eros did not move, just stared at her blankly. “This kind of an _important_ night...” she said, hoping he would get the hint.

“Wait, did I miss something?” asked Hades, now suddenly concerned.

“No, no, you’re good” she said to him, and then turned back to Eros. “I was planning on showing him _the notebook_...” Realization then dawned on Eros’ face.

“Oooooh” he said. “Yeah, I’m going to go.” He got up and headed to the door. “Sorry for the intrusion.” He turned to Hades. “I will replace your vodka. Also, you’re going to love this.” He opened the door, stepping out. “You kids have fun now.” Then he closed the door behind him, and Persephone could see a flash of violet light coming from outside. 

There was silence for the first few moments after the door closed, as Persephone and Hades were still trying to process Hurricane Eros. Then Hades looked over at Persephone.

“What notebook?” he asked curiously. Persephone blushed.

“I was going to wait until after we finished our drinks” she mumbled. Hades went to grab their cocktails from where they had been abandoned and placed them on the coffee table in front of her. Then he took a seat next to her on the couch, leaning in close, his eyes hungry.

“Persephone” he said in a low, gravely tone. A shiver went up her spine. He leaned in even closer and murmured the words against her neck. “Tell me about the notebook.”

“You know I can’t resist you when you use that voice” she purred, practically melting against him.

“I know, that’s why I do it” he said while placing gentle kisses on her neck. Persephone let out a moan, the excitement she felt earlier beginning to build.

“I just, uh, let me go grab it” she said. Her brain was starting to get muddled, but she managed to gently push him away so she could grab the book out of her bag. “So remember how we talked about me… you know… _exploring_ on my own before we… you know?” While she could think a little more clearly without his touch, this was still not the easiest topic for her to talk about. She figured that would come when she got more comfortable, when everything wasn’t so new. “Well I haven’t quite gotten there yet… but! These hands have not been idle! So I present to you my sexy notebook of sexiness!” She handed the notebook to Hades, who looked surprised yet curious. She sat back down next to him as he began to flip through the pages. “I may not know a lot about sex yet, but I am very good at studying.” Hades began to chuckle.

“This is so you” he sighed as he shook his head. Persephone pouted, he better not be making fun of her. “No, no!” he said upon seeing her face. “I’m actually quite impressed.” Persephone smiled again and looked to where he had gotten to in his flipping. They were in the sex position section. “Woah! You can actually do that?” he asked, the same one Eros had stopped at the night before.

“Yeah, you wanna see?” she asked. 

“No, no” he said quickly. “I will gladly wait.” He kept going into the next section, and paused again at one of the things that Eros had labeled as ‘harcore’. “I don’t think I have the equipment for that'' he said, turning the book sideways to get a better look at the diagram Persephone had drawn. “Actually, I might be able to… nevermind, I’m getting ahead of myself.” Persephone giggled. She was feeling so much more relaxed now, relieved she could finally share this with him.

“Flip to the last entry, this is what Eros suggested after our chat last night” she said. Hades did, and read her notes carefully.

“Huh” he said simply. Persephone didn’t quite know what to do with that.

“I mean, I thought we could do that tonight, you know, if you’re willing” she mumbled, blushing. Hades looked up at her, and must have realized that his curt reaction must have thrown her off.

“Yes, I do, I really do! It’s just…” he trailed off a moment. “I should have thought of that.”

“Well he is the God of Sexual Love, it’s kind of his thing” said Persephone.

“Very true” said Hades. They sat there for a moment in silence, Persephone realizing that perhaps her research project had taken away the potential for any spontaneity. But she supposed they would have plenty of time for that. “So, shall we?” asked Hades seductively. Persephone’s heart flipped in excitement, but she had had a plan for tonight, and she wanted to stick to it. 

“Let’s finish our drinks first” said Persephone. Hades nodded, and they both picked up their cocktails from the coffee table. Persephone began to drink… and she drank… and drank… and continued to drink until she finished the entire glass. Hades laughed when he figured out what she was doing. She placed the glass back down on the table. “All done! Let’s go!” Before she could stand Hades scooped her up into his arms. She squealed and giggled as he did. He began to carry her towards the bedroom, the same hungry look back in his eyes. Persephone wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She was eager and excited, her lips parting instantly, her tongue grazing his bottom lip causing a deep moan to escape from him. He broke apart from her. 

“Sweetness, I can’t see where I’m going when you do that” he said with a chuckle. She pouted at having to wait, but it wasn’t long before they made it his bedroom. He let Persephone down and then closed the door so they wouldn’t be interrupted by any four footed companions. Persephone stood with her back to him and threw what she hoped was a seductive look over her shoulder. Hades gave her a wicked smile in return, and then started undoing the zipper on her dress. Persephone moaned as he kissed all the way down her back, each place his lips landed feeling as if it had been lit on fire. Once her dress was on the floor he growled seductively in her ear.

“Get on the bed.” 

A shiver was sent down her spine and she gleefully complied, laying down on her back, her legs already parted and ready for him to fill the space she left. He was on top of her in an instant. She could feel his hardness through his pants against her, which made her even more excited. He kissed her hungrily as she undid the buttons on his shirt. Her brain was so flooded with pleasure it was difficult to make her finger obey her. Once she finally managed to get the last button undone Hades got off her, rocking back so he was on his knees in front of her. He took off his shirt and threw it away. Persephone quickly got to her knees as well. She started kissing along the scars on his chest. She loved his scars, she thought they were so beautiful, even though she knew Hades didn’t. She wished Hades could see himself the way she saw him, so every time she had an opportunity to see them she honoured them with her touch. Her kisses followed one of his scars from the base of his sternum up to the base of his neck. His head lolled back and he moaned as her tongue traced the last bit of the way up his neck until her lips found his again.

Persephone dug her nails into his back as their furious kissing resumed. One of Hades’ hands was on the back of her head and the other was on her back near her bra clasp. With a dextrous flick of his fingers he undid the clasp, and Persephone quickly took it all the way off and tossed it aside. Now that her breasts were free Hades’ mouth moved down her neck. Her hands moved to tangle themselves in his hair. She let out an excited gasp as he took one of her breasts in his mouth, his tongue dancing circles around her erect nipple. She moaned in pleasure, never wanting him to stop. He moved to the other breast, giving it just as much attention as Persephone allowed the glorious sensations to wash over her. He looked up at her when his lips broke away, looking at her as if she was the most beautiful creature in the universe. She brought her hands to his face and pulled him up to her so she could kiss him again.

This was as far as they had gotten before. From here, they would usually just continue to make out until they had made each other out. But tonight, Persepnoe couldn’t wait to keep going, to keep exploring, to ride these sensations she was feeling wherever they took her. Her hands wandered to his belt, fiddling with it but really getting nowhere. 

“Here, let me” said Hades. He got off the bed so he could more easily undress. Persephone followed him, never wanting to be more than arm's length away from him. She watched him closely as he undid his belt and took off his pants. The bulge created by his arousal was even more pronounced now that he was only in underwear. Persephone was somewhat mesmerized. Her fingers reach out to hook themselves in the elastic of his underwear, and his hands move to help her take them off. 

While she had certainly seen many penises during her internet adventure, this was the first time she was seeing his. It was slightly bigger than she expected, but she expected it to be big. The sight of it awakened not only a hunger but also a curiosity inside her. She tentatively reached towards it, and with the lightest of touches, gliding her finger along it from the base all the way to the tip. She felt a rush of joy and excitement at how that one tiny action was making him shiver with pleasure, and how his cock twitched, yearning for me. Suddenly she wanted more, and she began to wonder what it would be like to take it into her mouth…

Hades hand caught her chin, and he tilted her face so she could look at him. It seemed her face was betraying her thoughts more than she thought it was. “Wait, little goddess” he said, although the gruffness of his voice betrayed his own desire. It was driving Persephone crazy. She quickly freed herself of her own panties and lept back onto the bed, Hades joining her without her needing to beckon.

They laid on their sides, facing each other. “Ready?” he asked. Persephone nodded enthusiastically, although she was still slightly nervous for some reason. Hades must have sensed it and gave her an encouraging smile. Persephone slipped her fingers between her legs as Hades shifted so he could manage his own pleasure.

She knew she would be wet, but she was a little surprised by how wet she actually was. Her fingers explored, feeling the different folds. Her brain couldn’t help thinking of the anatomical names of what she was feeling. It felt nice, it felt good, but it wasn’t until her fingers found the swollen bud of her clit did she let out an involuntary gasp of pleasure. She started out slow, gently touching herself, wanting to feel each sensation as deeply as possible. After being momentarily lost in her own pleasure, she remembered the other reason for doing this. She tried to look down to see what Hades was doing, but the position they were in wasn’t making it easy.

“Wait” she breathed, and Hades gave her a quizzical look. “I want… I want to see you.” She moved herself so she was on her knees in front of him but with her legs still apart. Hades shifted so he was partially sitting up, using one elbow to prop himself up so he could look at her better. He had one leg bent, and the other relaxed. She could see all of him now, and she was momentarily lost in the beauty of him as he lay before her. She continued to touch herself, but also made sure to watch what he was doing. He didn’t seem to be in a rush, his hand rubbing up and down his shaft in a lazy rhythm. She wanted to keep watching but her own pleasure was starting to overwhelm her. She could feel the pressure building and she started to move her fingers faster. She closed her eyes and let a strangled cry escape her lips. 

She felt the weight shift on the bed as Hades moved closer to her. He placed his hand one one shoulder and kissed the other. “Fuck, Sweetness, you’re so hot” he murmured against her. He continued to kiss all the way up her neck, adding to the pleasure that was already so intense that she thought she might actually explode. 

“K-k-” she stuttered, gods, she could barely talk. “Kiss me” she finally managed, and his lips were on hers in an instant. She moaned into his mouth. She had to be close, she felt like any instant she would just tip over the edge. She clasped one hand to his back and the other to the back of his head, hanging onto him as if for dear life. She broke from his kiss letting out another cry, this time much louder. His lips moved back to her neck, kissing her. Then she felt his teeth graze against her, and he nibbled her neck just the tiniest bit, but that is what sent her over the edge. “Hades!” she cried as her body was rocked by shock waves of pleasure. Her hands tightened on him and her muscles convulsed, her orgasm seeming to send an electric pulse through her. She couldn’t believe she could feel this way, it was a high like she had never felt before.

When the wave of intense pleasure finally backed off she sat back onto her heels. Hades was looking at her, and she didn’t know what else to do but give him a bashful smile. He took her face in his hands and gave her a quick and passionate kiss. “That was so fucking hot” he growled. 

“You’re not done though, are you?” she asked breathlessly. He shook his head, but didn’t let her go. Persephone had an idea, and decided to take charge, just a little. She gave him a little push, and he fell back so he was sitting on his heels. She then sat back up the same position she was in before. He looked a little confused but still excited for what was coming next. “I want you to cum for me” she purred. His hand flew back to his cock. She bit her lip in a way she hoped would be sexy. By the way he groaned she assumed it was. His pleasure at watching her spurred her on. She took one of her breasts in her hand and gave it a squeeze, letting out a moan as she did.

“Yes, Sweetness, oh fuck” Hades groaned. Persephone then went onto all fours and crawled close enough to just brush her lips against his. “Yes, I’m gonna-” Persephone got another idea, spurred by her curiosity from earlier, and as quick as she could she took the head of his cock in her mouth. “Oh!” he cried in surprise, not anticipating the new sensation. She started wrapping her tongue around it and then she felt his hot release filling her mouth, feeling his cock pulse. He hand was in her hair, gripping her tight, holding her there. The pulsing slowed, and Hades released his grip on her. She pulled away, sitting back on her heels again and swallowed. 

“I hope that was okay” she said, a little shyly. “I saw that in a porn and I thought-”

“That was more than okay” he said, and this time it was him that was breathless. “Surprising, and wonderful.” He fell backwards onto the bed, his arms spread out wide. She quickly made her way to him, tucking herself under one arm and lying her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. “So, how was that?” he asked. She considered a moment.

“I’m starting to see what the fuss is about” she finally replied, and he chuckled at her understatement. “How about you? I know it’s not _exactly_ what you want-”

“Sweetness” he said, cutting her off. She looked up at him, and he was looking at her adoringly. “I want anything to do with you.” Her heart filled with such warmth hearing him say that. She snuggled back into his chest, hiding her face so he wouldn’t see how much those simple words affected her. He began to stroke her one arm, his fingers stroking her skin so very lightly. “Watching you discover this part of yourself… I feel so blessed to be a part of it. You have such wonder, such curiosity, such… _joie-de-vivre_ , Gods, that sounds douchey…” Persephone giggled. “What I’m trying to get at is… being with you makes me feel like I’m new to all of this again… and as weird as it sounds… it feels… _refreshing_.” She looked up at him again.

“I’m so happy, Hades” she said, reaching up with one hand so she could stroke his cheek. “I had no idea I could even be this happy.” He gave her a wide smile and squeezed her tight.

“You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not super loving this chapter. It's a bit shorter and has a lot of set up.

Persephone both loved and hated Fridays. Since she didn’t have class it was the one day a week she was scheduled to work at Underworld Corp. all day. That, in and of itself, was pretty alright. She did enjoy her job, and she got to see Hades, however brief their interactions were at work. She got to spend the whole afternoon with Hermes, which is the part of the day she loved. Her and the Messenger always had fun together. It was the morning she dreaded, which was spent with Thanatos. She supposed his dislike for her stemmed from the fact that he was friends with Minthe. She had honestly tried her best to connect with him, but no matter what she did, he was nothing but rude to her, so she had stopped trying. While they worked, Persephone had taken to putting in a pair of earbuds and listening to music. That day she was listening to some jazz standards that Hades liked to listen to. She was barely paying attention to her work, instead she was fantasizing about dancing with Hades to “Someone to Watch Over Me”, when she was interrupted by Thanatos waving angrily in front of her face. She took out her earbuds.

“Can I help you?’ she asked, a little more sour than she wanted to be.

“Seriously? You can’t see what you’re doing?” he spat. Persephone looked around, there was baby’s breath scattered everywhere. Apparently her mind had wandered more than she thought. She was embarrassed, but she didn’t want to show it in front of him.

“My apologies” she said coolly. “But what does it matter?”

“It matters because it’s everywhere” he said. “Look! Some are even on my desk!” 

“What’s the matter Thanatos?” hissed an invisible voice over Thanatos’ shoulder. He jumped, swatting around him but connected with nothing. Persephone giggled as Alecto materialized behind him. Thanatos whipped around and found himself face to face with the yellow Fury. “Boo” she said, and he jumped again. Tisaphone and Megaera appeared as well, all of them laughing at him. 

“Aww” said Meg when she noticed the flowers. She picked up one of the bunches that had floated over to Thanatos’ desk and placed it amongst the snakes that made up her hair.

“Don’t ‘aww’” said Thanatos, having got his barings back. “She made a big fucking mess!”

“Take a chill pill Thanatos” said Tis. “Seriously, it’s like you’ve got a problem with her or something.”

“I just don’t think we need another Olympus snob looking down on us” said Thanatos. “I figured you three of all people would agree.”

“We would, except Pinky’s no snob” said Alecto. “In fact, she’s the coolest Olympian we’ve ever met.”

“Aww, thanks guys!” said Persephone. 

“You ready for lunch?” asked Meg.

“Yup, let me just grab my purse” replied Persephone.

“Are you actually friends with these freaks?” asked Thanatos to Persephone.

“Now who sounds like an Olympus snob” said Tis.

“Yeah, who asked your opinion, Man Bun?” spat Alecto.

“All ready” announced Persephone once she had her purse. As much as she didn’t like Thanatos, she also didn’t need Alecto starting a fight in the Library. The four of them walked out of the Library, took the elevator down to the lobby, and started walking to a small cafe a few blocks away.

After Persephone and Meg had met in the Beach change room, they had started chatting every time they saw each other, and it wasn’t long before they became friends. Soon Persephone met the other two furies as well, and it wasn’t long before the four of them were hanging out during almost every one of Persephone’s shifts. It turned out that while it was a curse to be on the furies’ bad side, if you were on their good side, they basically adopted you. 

When they arrived at the cafe they ordered at the counter and then took up at a table. Persephone had become quite fond of this cafe since they had a decent amount of vegetarian lunch options. That day she opted for a caprese panini. Alecto seemed preoccupied, checking her phone much more often than she normally did.

“Everything okay Alecto?” asked Persephone. Alecto sighed and put down her phone on the table.

“No” she admitted.

“Ugh, is this about that nyad you had been seeing?” asked Tis.

“He hasn’t answered me in like a week” said Alecto.

“Seriously? What a jerk” said Meg.

“Like, I’m just having trouble wrapping my brain around it” said Alecto. “Like, is this motherfucker seriously ghosting me?” Alecto groaned, her head sunk to the table. Their food arrived, and the waitress awkwardly tried to put the plates down on the table around Alecto, who was not moving.

“That really sucks” said Persephone. “But do you really want to be with anyone dumb enough to ghost a fury?”

“So valid” said Tis. Alecto lifted her head. 

“You know what I need? A fun assignment” said Alecto. “All we’ve been doing lately is messing with mortals, we haven’t had anything fun since that reporter.” Persephone blushed and looked away. Meg also looked uncomfortable as well.

“Alecto, can be sensitive for like two seconds?” chastised Tis.

“Sorry” said Alecto, looking apologetic. However, true to her sister’s request, that lasted about two seconds. “Speaking of that reporter, how are things going in the dating department Persephone?” 

“They’re not” Persephone lied.

“Oh come on” said Tis. “You’re telling us there’s nothing going on between you and the boss?” Persephone cursed herself for blushing, but she couldn’t help yet.

“Of course not” she said. 

“That’s too bad” said Tis, but she had a knowing smile on her face. “Alecto and were just saying you two would be cute together.”

“Meg might hate you” Alecto jumped in, “but I think you can take her.” Now it was Meg’s turn to blush.

“I mean… I wouldn’t _love_ it but… at least you’re better than Minthe” mumbled Meg.

“Wow Meg, such a high compliment” said Alecto sarcastically.

“No, I just meant-” started Meg, but Persephone placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile. 

“I get what you mean” she said, and Meg smiled back at her. 

“Alecto, my dear” said Tis, scrolling through her phone. “It appears all we’ve got today is a 3:30 in the mortal realm to take care of the child molestor. After that, we’re totally free.” Alecto looks as if her birthday had come earlier.

“So we can go fuck up the ghost?” she asked hopefully. Meg put a hand lovingly over her sister’s.

“Let’s go fuck up the ghost” she said, in such a sweet voice that juxtaposed so wildly with her words. 

“Yes!” hissed Alecto. “Anyone else need someone fucked up while we’re at it?” she asked the table, then she turned to Persephone specifically. “Pinky? You’re included in this.” While Persephone’s mind immediately shot to one person in particular, she quickly waved the thought away.

“No, I’m good, thank you though” she replied with an appreciative smile. Again, Tis smiled knowingly at her.

“I get the feeling if Pinky needed avenging, she could take care of it fine all on her own” said Tis. “She’s sweet like Meg, but we all know what Meg’s nasty side is like. My bet is Pinky’s got a scary side, and I honestly can’t wait to see it.”

“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see” said Persephone with a coy smile. 

They spent the rest of lunch chatting about the furies adventures in the mortal realm. Persephone listened with a sort of grim fascination. She couldn’t believe some of the terrible things mortals got up to, until she remembered some of the terrible things gods got up to. Once they were done, they walked back towards Tower 1 together, but the furies veered off before they got there and headed to Tower 2 instead. 

When Persephone walked into Tower 1 Hades was there in the lobby, presumably by coincidence, but Persephone knew he was waiting for her. It didn’t matter that they did this almost everyday, her heart still gave a flutter of joy when she saw him. When he saw her walk in he smiled at her, at first a little too wide for a boss smiling at his employee, but then he quickly regained composure.

“Good afternoon Persephone” he said as they headed to the elevators.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty” she said.

“Did you have a pleasant lunch?” he asked. The elevator doors opened and they both stepped in. The small sprite in the elevator didn’t need to ask, she flew up pressing the buttons for 96 and 99.

“Oh yes” replied Peresphone. The elevator doors were closing now, they had actually managed to get the elevator to themselves. “I had lunch with the furies, they’re such-”

A red hand flew in between the closing doors. Both Hades and Persephone sighed, although Hades sounded even more frustrated than Persephone did. The doors opened back up to reveal Hermes smiling at them.

“Boss man, Persephone” he greeted them as he entered the elevator. The doors closed, and they were off.

“How was your morning Hermes?” asked Persephone, hoping some light conversation would take care of any tension that might be lingering in the hair. Hades still looked like he wanted to kill Hermes, so Persephone shot him a warning look.

“Pretty good, did some deliveries” he said. “Oh! That reminds me-” He rummaged inside his suit jacket and pulled out two letters. “A letter for you” he said, handing one of them to Persephone, “and a letter for you” he said, handing the other to Hades.

Persephone knew instantly who the letter was from. The handwriting, the ink colour, the size of the envelope, the weight of the paper, this letter was from Zeus. Her heart started beating fast and suddenly her stomach was starting to ache like she had swallowed a rock.

“Persephone” said Hades, and Persephone’s head snapped up. She had been unaware that she had been staring fixated at the letter. “I’m very glad I ran into you actually. I have a few questions on some of your latest reports, nothing major, just some clarification I would like before my next round of judgements. Would you mind coming up to my office with me?”

“Not at all” she replied, her voice much more timid than she wanted it to be. When the elevator doors opened at the 96th floor Hermes gave them both a wave and stepped out. When they got to the 99th floor, Persephone followed Hades into his office. 

“Hold all my calls” he said to his new PA as they walked by. Once they were both inside Hades closed the door behind them. Persephone dropped her purse on the floor and started to pace the length of his office. “Sweetness…” he started, his tone gentle but almost warning.

“I know… I just… let me…” she stuttered as she paced. She couldn’t sit still. She had adrenaline running through her and she had to move. She shook at her hands as she continued pacing, and tried taking deep breaths. Her phone to buzz from her purse, it froze her in her tracks. “That must be-”

“We don’t know that” said Hades, his voice steady.

“I got a letter and you got a letter, the others have too” she said, much more harshly than she intended. Hades went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. His touch worked instantly to calm her. 

“Whatever it is, I’ve got you” he said. Persephone threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He responded by wrapping his arms tightly around her. She was still shaking, but this was making her feel so much better. 

“Okay” she said as she pulled away. The letter was still in her hand, having gotten slightly crumpled through her freak out. She flipped it over, her hand moving to open the envelope, but her hand was shaking so much. She couldn’t stop thinking the worst, and it was completely throwing her. “I can’t” she said finally. She shoved the letter at Hades. “You do it, please.” He hesitantly took the letter from her. As soon as it was out of her hands she turned around. She didn’t think she could even look at him as he read it. She heard the rustle of paper as he opened the envelope. 

“Zeus has summoned you to a meeting” he said. “3pm on Monday. Olympus Headquarters, conference room one.” She waited for more, but Hades didn’t say anything else. She turned back around to face him.

“That’s it?” she said. Hades looked almost apologetic. 

“That’s all it says” he said. He handed the letter back to her so she could read for herself. Other than titles, that was all the letter said. Hades then opened up his own letter. “Mine says the same thing.” Persephone went over to her purse and pulled out her phone. Just as she had suspected earlier, all the messages were from the group chat she was in with Hades, Athena, Ares, and Eros. 

“They all got the same letter” she said, reviewing the messages that had come in. “Any plans for tonight?” she asked, looking at Athena’s last message. 

“It seems I’m going to visit my niece” he said, his own phone in his hand. 

***

Hades and Persephone arrived separately to Athena’s, both of them having to stop at their respective homes before they went. Persephone got there first, and she barely had a chance to knock on the door before it flew open and she was pulled into Eros’ arms. The two of them headed up into the war room, where Ares was looking particularly irritated, and Athena was pouring over one of the flow charts plastered to the wall. Hades only arrived about 5 minutes behind, not even bothering to knock, just heading straight up to the war room.

“So, interesting turn of events” said Athena, not taking her eyes off the flow chart. 

“That is one way to put it” growled Ares. Persephone could imagine why he was so tense. A letter like this carried for too many unknowns for his taste. It was also the same reason why she was feeling so antsy. 

“The fact that the meeting is in conference room one is particularly intriguing to me” said Athena. “It makes me think we’re not the only guests.”

“You think _he’ll_ be there?” said Persephone, the rock reappearing in her stomach. Eros, who was sitting next to her on the bed, put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“It would make sense” said Athena. She finally turned around to look at them. “According to Hades, Zeus hasn’t done anything to prepare for this trial in the past month, right?” Hades nodded. “He definitely banked on you backing down by now, and since you haven’t, he needs to change his tactic.” Athena took a highlighter that had been in the back pocket of her jeans and turned back to the flow charts. “My bet is this meeting is for Zeus to attempt to settle this before it goes to trial.” She drew a line between two sections of the flow chart.

“That sounds like something he would do” said Ares. “He would want to avoid this going to trial at all costs.”

“And the timing fits” said Hades. “We’ve got just over a week until the trial date, he’s starting to run out of options.”

“So what do I do?” asked Persephone.

“Go to the meeting” said Ares, stating the obvious. 

“She gets that part” said Eros bitterly. Ares rolled his eyes.

“You need to avoid making any decisions about what to do until you have all the data” he said. “Go to the meeting, hear what he has to say, and then we regroup.”

“He’s right” said Athena. “I mean, we could dive into permutations again, but it won’t do you any good until you have all the information.” 

“Right” said Persephone, her heart still beating fast. What they were saying made sense, but the meeting wasn’t until Monday, and today was Friday. She had class Monday morning which would occupy her brain, but she still had the whole weekend to get through without going insane. 

“I know what you need, let’s go run some drills” said Ares, getting up.

“What, now?” said Persephone. 

“Yup, there’s nothing more to do here and it will take your mind off things” he said. “Come on, let’s go” he barked when she didn’t move. She lept of the bed and hurried down to the training room. 

Ares ended up being right. The drills helped so much to take her mind away. She stayed until 10pm, until Athena finally kicked them out. Ares and Eros dropped her off at home, where she had restless sleep, but at least it was sleep. She spent a lot of her weekend after that out in the yard with Artemis, doing target practice. Artemis was thrilled with how far Persephone had come with the archery, and loved having someone to practice with that wasn’t her brother. When Persephone wasn’t out in the yard, she spent time working on Artemis’ punching bag. This was something her therapist had recommended. Anytime she felt overly anxious, or especially angry, to work out the emotions doing something physical. Her therapist recommended punch a pillow at first, but was thrilled to hear Persephone had a punching bag in her house.

By the time Monday came, Persephone felt unstoppable. It didn’t matter what was thrown at her during this meeting, she knew she could take it.


	14. Chapter 14

When Hades arrived at the Olympus Headquarters building Persephone was already there with Athena. They were sitting on a bench outside, having a hushed conversation. It felt an odd sense of deja vu going up to the two goddesses, but as soon as he approached, he could feel the difference between today and a month ago. A month ago, Persephone was barely keeping it together, today, her face was a mask of hard determination. When she saw Hades however, her expression for a moment betrayed the nervousness hiding underneath. She walked over to him and gave him a hug, holding on tighter and longer than a pair of friends might have, but it didn’t matter. When they came apart, Hades noticed what she was wearing. She had chosen a dress this time, in one of her favoured styles. While it certainly fit close to her body, it was by no means tight either. The skirt hit just below her knee and the neckline was close to her throat, giving no hint of any cleavage. She wore an elegant black trench coat over top, making her seem much older than she was, but she wore it well. Her hair was longer than normal, but it was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. 

Athena was checking her watch impatiently. “Where is that brother of mine? We need to be up there in 10 minutes” she complained. As if on cue, Ares and Eros appeared walking up from the parking garage. 

“I don’t want to hear it” said Ares to Athena, who had a disapproving look on his face. Of all the things the two gods of war _could_ butt heads about, punctuality was what it ended up being most of the time.

Eros pulled Persephone into a hug when he got over to her, but it didn’t last too long. Persephone pulled away from him, and by the looks on her face, she looked anxious for them to get going.

“Let’s head up, shall we?” she said, a serious note to her voice that wasn’t often there. Hades and the others followed her into the building, and into the elevator. Hades pushed the button when they got in, knowing exactly where they were going. Conference room one was the one Zeus used most often as it was one floor away from his own office. When they arrived at the conference room, their suspicions were confirmed. Zeus was sitting at the table, not at the head but in the centre of the table on the side that faced the doors, with Apollo sitting next to him.

If Persephone was phased by seeing Apollo sitting there she never betrayed it, and Hades was watching her closely for any sign she might break. She didn’t even blink when she walked in, she merely took her seat in the chair directly opposite Zeus. Athena and Ares sat down on either side of her, Ares picking the seat directly across from Apollo. Eros sat next to his father, and Hades sat next to Athena. 

Apollo seemed as if he was trying to look relaxed. He had his normal, slightly smug expression on his face, and had his legs crossed in a carefree posture, but Hades could see the sweat starting to form on his brow. Ares had appeared to notice it too, and gave the sun god a sinister grin in return. Zeus on the other hand seemed perfectly composed. He smiled warmly to each of them when they came in.

“Thank you all for coming” he said once they were all seated. “Thetis? Can you please pour some water for our guests?” Hades didn’t notice the ocean nymph standing in the corner of the room until she moved. She swiftly poured each of them a glass of water. “Thank you, that will be all. Just, make sure that paperwork is prepared, will you?” She nodded and then slipped out the room. “Well, so good to see you all” he said once she was gone. No one said a word. “Not in the mood for pleasantries I see” said Zeus with a slight hint of bitterness. “No matter, I’m good with getting right to business.” Zeus picked up some papers that were in front of him and tapped them on the table. “I have called you all here today because the trial date I had set is fast approaching, and I was rather hoping we could find a much more… _civil_ solution.” Eros snorted, Apollo shot him a piercing look, but Zeus ignored him. Instead, he slid the papers in his hands across the table to Persephone. “Outline in these pages is a way we can settle this matter without going to trial, an offer if you will-”

“A deal” interrupted Athena. Zeus’ smile fell at the word. Hades knew how much he loved to sugar coat things, and how much Athena liked to call things as they were.

“A good deal, if I do say so myself, but yes, a deal” admitted Zeus. Persephone began to hesitantly flip through the pages. Zeus took that as an invitation. “If you sign, there will be a 25 foot restraining order, an absolute guarantee that any pornographic photographs of you are completely destroyed, and Apollo will receive 15 years community service.”

“So a slap on the wrist?” said Athena, clearly not impressed.

“It’s better than nothing” shot back Zeus, starting to get tired of his daughter’s interruptions.

“What’s the catch?” asked Ares. 

“Catch?” said Zeus, innocently. “What makes you think there’s a catch?”

“Because it’s you” offered Hades. Zeus’ face fell, giving Hades a strange sense of satisfaction.

“If you sign that, you agree to never speak of this again” said Zeus, addressing Persephone. He then looked around at the others. “You would all sign Non Disclosure Agreements, and we can all pretend this never happened.”

“But it did” said Persephone quietly. Hades regarded her face carefully, but her expression was unreadably. “If I sign this, it doesn’t go back in time and erase what happened. It still happened.” No one spoke for a moment, and then Zeus spoke in a tone that if Hades didn’t know any better, he would have called tender.

“I understand, Persephone” he said. “But unless you want to walk into Tartarus and pay a visit to my father, none of us can go back in time. This is the best I can offer you though.” He paused a moment, and then added, “Don’t you want this to be over?” Persephone stared at the papers in front of her, her brow knotted. Hades knew what Zeus was doing, making it seem like he was on her side. And maybe there was a part of him that was, but he knew his brother too well. He wanted to make this go away, any way he could.

“How long do I have to decide?” she asked. Zeus looked uncomfortable. 

“I was kind of hoping you’d sign it now” he admitted. 

“Do better” said Hades, in a way he knew Zeus would respond to.

“Fine, how’s 72 hours?” he asked. Persephone considered.

“72 hours” she agreed. The room was silent again. Hades was rather amused watching Ares staring at Apollo, who looked ready to jump out of his skin. Part of him was surprised Apollo had managed to stay silent this whole time, until he realized that Zeus must have threatened to keep quiet. While he had to be here for the presentation of the settlement, anything that would come out of his mouth wouldn’t help his case. “Is that all?” asked Persephone.

“That’s all” said Zeus. “You’re all free to go.” Persephone grabbed the papers and shot out of the conference room. Hades made a move to follow her, but Zeus wrapped a hand around his arm. “A word in my office, if you please” he said. It sounded pleasant enough, but Hades knew better than to disobey. He made eye contact with Persephone who nodded her understanding. Persephone, Athena, Ares, and Eros all got into the elevator. 

“Um” said Apollo, standing in front of the open elevator. There was clearly enough room for him, but he wasn’t moving. “I’ll get the next one.”

“Good choice” hissed Ares as the door closed. Hades snorted at the sight of the exchange, and then him and Zeus got into the next elevator going up to Zeus’ office. When they walked in Hades took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Zeus’ desk as Zeus closed the door, then Zeus took his seat.

“I’ll cut to the chase” he said, his elbows on his desk, his hands clasped together in front of his face. “I want you to make her sign that deal.” Hades was not exactly surprised by this request from his brother. Disappointed, but not surprised. 

“And why would I do that?” asked Hades in a steady voice.

“Because it’s the right thing to do” said Zeus, and Hades snorted.

“For you” he shot at Zeus.

“And for her!” Zeus came back quickly. “Okay yes, this would make things a lot easier on me, I’ll admit it. Sue me for not wanting one of my most hardworking and dedicated Olympians going to trial for rape.”

“It’s what he deserves” said Hades.

“Is it?” questioned Zeus. “What’s really going to happen at that trial? You’ve been through enough of them, you know how this works.” Hades didn’t say anything. He knew where Zeus was going with this. “If this goes to trial it is going to a long and arduous process where Persephone’s story will be picked apart like a carcass. Her character will be called into question, not to mention that fact that she actually said-”

“I know what she said!” said Hades forcefully. Zeus was right, and he hated it. “She told me what she said.”

“I’m just thinking like a lawyer” said Zeus defensively. His expression then softened somewhat and he continued. “This is going to be hard and painful on her, and it is very likely it will not yield the results she wants. She may even come out worse for it. Are you really willing to let her go through that?” 

“Don’t make this about her, this is about you” spat Hades.

“Oh, I admitted my motivation here, I have no shame in that” said Zeus, and Hades knew he was telling the truth. “But believe it or not, I actually do care about her… and more than that I care about you, and I know how much she means to you.” Zeus could be tender, when he wanted to, and it was those moments that reminded Hades that they truly were brothers. “I know this deal isn’t perfect, but if she turns it down, she could end up with nothing… or worse.” It wasn’t a threat, just the sad acceptance of a reality Hades had been fighting against.

“I know” he said quietly in response. They sat in silence for a moment. 

“At least make sure she considers it?” Zeus asked. Hades nodded.

“I can do that” he said. Hades got up to leave, figuring that was the end of their conversation. Zeus walked around his desk to walk Hades out of his office.

“When this is all over, we need a family brunch” said Zeus as they walked across the floor towards the elevator.

“Can it not be in a strip club this time?” asked Hades, although he already knew the answer.

“I’m sorry, is it even brunch if it’s not in a strip club?” said Zeus. Hades laughed and Zeus joined. “See you later” he said as Hades got into the elevator, and Hades waved goodbye to his brother. 

He only made it down one floor before the elevator doors opened again, and a golden nymph joined him in the elevator. Hades didn’t recognize her, but then again he didn’t know everyone who worked for his brother. The elevator went down one more level and then the doors opened again, but no one got on. Instead, the golden nymph grabbed Hades by the hand and dragged him out of the elevator.

“Hey! What are you-?” he started, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Would you relax? It’s me” said Hera, dragging Hades down the hall. _Of course_ , Hades thought as Hera, disguised as the nymph, dragged him into an empty conference room, one much smaller than the one they were all in earlier. Once the door was closed she dropped her disguise, her features morphing back into her own. “So, what happened in there?” she asked. Hades was confused, what on earth did Hera have to do with any of this?

“What?” he asked. Hera sighed impatiently. Her cigarette holder appeared out of thin air with an already lit cigarette. She took a drag.

“Did I stutter?” she said, and now Hades was starting to get annoyed.

“I feel like you’re starting this in the middle of a conversation, can I buy a vowel here?” said Hades. Hera hesitated. She looked almost reluctant to share what was coming next. 

“A few weeks ago I had a vision” she admitted. “When Persephone was at my house I had a vision of her being violated.” She took another drag on her cigarette as Hades attempted to process what he was hearing. “I couldn’t see who it was, though I had my suspicions… turns out they were correct.”

“Wait, when you say when Persephone was at your house, when was that?” asked Hades. The last time Hades remembered Persephone being at Hera’s was when Hera had roped the two of them into dinner, and that was so long ago. 

“The day I gave her the internship” said Hera, to which Hades was shocked.

“Bunny, that was the day after it happened, you’ve been sitting on this this whole time?” he asked. Hera gave him a defiant look, but he knew her well enough to know it masked her discomfort at being called out. 

“I tried talking to Zeus, but he wouldn’t hear it” she said. “Gods forbid anyone say anything bad about his favourite Olympian.” There was venom in her voice as she spoke. “Admittedly I may have pushed him too, he completely shut me out of this.” Hera paused again, taking another drag from her cigarette. Hades wished she wouldn’t smoke. The smell of if was making him want one and he had been so good lately. “I have been keeping an eye on her ever since though… in my own way…” Something dawned on Hades.

“Were you the reporter who stopped us when I was giving her the tour?” he asked. Hera smiled.

“My, you do have a good memory” she said. “Anyway, I know most of what’s been going on the last month…” She gave Hades a knowing look, indicating that she in fact knew _everything_ that had been going on. “I just want to know what happened in that meeting. Did he offer her a deal? Did she take it?”

“Hera” said Hades, cutting off her questioning. “I-I still don’t understand…”

“I told you” she said, getting impatient again. “Zeus iced me out of this, so I need-”

“No, I get that part” said Hades. “What I don’t get is, regardless of what happened between you and Zeus, why didn’t you say anything?”

“What, to you?” said Hera, looking just as confused as he was. He shook his head at her, how could she not get it?

“No, to her!” said Hades, a little more forceful than he intended. But he was frustrated now. “You could have reached out to her, helped her.” Hera looked away from him, a hint of shame beginning to creep its way into her eyes.

“I know” she said. “It’s just with things being the way they are between Zeus and I… I didn’t want to push him… You understand, right?” She reached out to him but he pulled away.

“No, I don’t” he said. He was looking at Hera with such shock and disdain. “It’s such a pity, Hera, that your ability to do the right thing is so tied to your marital bed.” Hera looked as if he had slapped her. 

“Hades…” she said softly, but he turned away from her and left the conference room, slamming the door behind him. Perhaps his words were a little too harsh, but in that moment he didn’t care. He was done playing Hera’s silly games. He needed to get to Persephone.

***

Persephone was sitting on the bed in the war room with Eros next to her, his arm around her. He had barely let her go since they left the conference room. She appreciated it. Since the meeting it felt like someone had removed her brain, but it through a food processor, and put it back. The physical touch was helping to ground her again. Out of character for him, Ares was the one manically pacing the room. Athena was staring at one of the flow charts again, standing perfectly still and barely blinking. She hadn’t spoken a word since they got back and it was making Persephone nervous. 

“So let’s be honest, we all thought this might happen” said Ares, clearly filling in to lead the meeting since Athena seemed to have checked out. “Not a problem, no big deal, we at least now know where Zeus stands, which is helpful.”

“What do you mean?” asked Eros.

“Well now we know what Zeus is willing to give to make this all go away” he said. “All things considered it’s not a bad deal. I’ve been around the block a few times with these things and I have seen people get the end of a much shorter stick…” Persephone looked up at him. She had no context for Zeus’ offer, but if Ares was saying that it was a good offer then maybe… “I mean, obviously we’re still not going to take it” he said, addressing Persephone’s unspoken thoughts. “Right?” he asked, looking at Athena now, who didn’t seem to even acknowledge him. “Right?!” he said again, louder. “Thea!” he shouted as he clapped his hands together. Athena jumped, having been shocked out of her strange state.

“Sorry” she said, blushing. “Wh-what are we talking about?”

“The deal” said Ares. “She’s not going to take it, right?”

“Well…” squeezed Athena in a higher pitched voice than Persephone had ever heard her use before. She wasn’t looking at them. Did that mean…? “I think she should take it” she said quickly.

“Athena!” exclaimed Ares in shock, but Persephone wasn’t totally surprised. 

“It’s just, strategically it’s the best option” she said. Persephone’s heart sank when she heard Athena say that. There was a part of her that was thinking it already but to hear it confirmed by the Goddess of Wisdom herself was almost too much to bear. Athena must have seen the heartbreak on Persephone’s face because she rushed over to her. “No, I didn’t mean, listen…” She took Persephone’s hands in hers, giving them a comforting squeeze. “Just because it looks good on paper, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you to do. You’re the boss, whatever you decide, we’ll back you, no matter what.” Her words were comforting in theory, but they did nothing to shift Persephone’s mood. She slowly took her hands out of Athena’s and placed them back in her lap.

“I, um…” started Persephone, but she had no idea what to say. Everything was too scrambled in her head, she needed time to sort out her thoughts and feelings. “I think I need to be alone… if that’s alright.”

“Of course” said Athena, moving so Persephone could get off the bed.

“I’m going to head home” she said, looking back at her friends. They all had such concerned looks on their faces. They wanted to help so bad, and Persephone wished they could. But she could barely put two thoughts together, and there was nothing they could do about that.

“Do you want one of us to walk you home?” asked Athena.

“No” replied Persephone. She was about to walk away when she realized Hades was probably going to make his way here after he was done with Zeus. “When Hades gets here tell him…” but she had no idea what to tell him. She put her head in her hands. “I don’t know, tell him something.” She felt a hand on her shoulder. When she opened her eyes she saw it was Athena.

“It’s okay, we’ll explain when he gets here” she said sympathetically. Persephone gave her an appreciative smile and then she left.

As she walked out of the house she thought about where she wanted to go. She didn’t particularly want to go home. Artemis was there, and she’d ask what’s wrong, and Persephone didn’t have it in her to pretend everything was fine. She walked across Athena’s street into an empty lot that was across from Athena’s house. She barely registered when two plane trees sprung from the ground, their trunks so thick they looked as if they should have been there for decades rather than seconds. She was so focused on finding a place to be alone she didn’t find it strange at all when she walked through the space in between the two trees and entered a forest that had certainly not been there a second ago. It was so calm and peaceful, exactly the kind of place she was looking for. A sudden wave of fatigue hit her. Maybe she would find a spot to take a nap, she was sure this forest had the perfect place somewhere.

Meanwhile, Ares, Eros, and Athena watched out the bedroom window as Persephone walked across the street, made two trees grow in front of her, walk between them, and entirely disappear. 

“Did what I think happened… actually just happen?” asked Eros, still staring at the place where Persephone had been.

“That depends” said Athena, also still staring. “Do you think that Persephone just spontaneously manifested a pocket dimension in the empty lot across the street from my house and disappeared into it?” The three of them sat in silence for a moment, processing Athena’s evaluation of the situation.

“Yup” said Eros in answer to her question.

“Then yes, I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.”

***

Hades drove faster than he should have over to Athena’s house. He just needed to get to Persephone, he had already been delayed enough. As he walked up to her house after he had parked he was met with a sight he did not expect. Athena was sitting on her front step, a cup of tea in her hands, watching the empty lot across from her house. 

“What’s going on?” he asked as he headed over.

“You just missed Ares and Eros” she said, not even bothering to look at him. “They left a few minutes ago.”

“And Persephone?” he asked, his frustration at Hera beginning to spill over.

“She wanted to be alone” said Athena.

“So she went home?”

“Not exactly.” Hades furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Dammit, Athena, I’m really not in the mood” he snapped. He expected her to snap back at him, but instead she lifted her arm and pointed to the empty lot. He looked to see what she was pointing at and noticed the two eldery plane trees that had definitely not been there before. While that in and of itself was strange, between the trees reality seemed to fluctuate, as if a mostly transparent veil had been hung between them and rippling in a non-existent breeze.

“Is that-?” he started.

“Yup” replied Athena. She took a sip of her tea. “Pretty impressive piece of magic for a 19 year old.”

“Which means it’s probably very unstable” said Hades. Athen sipped her tea again, totally unphased.

“I figured as much, which is why I’m sitting out here” she said calmly. Hades waited for her to say something else, but she just continued to stare at the entrance.

“I’m going in to find her” he said finally.

“Probably a good idea” she replied. Hades walked across the street to the empty lot and stepped between the trees, feeling the shiver as he left his reality and entered the one designed by Persephone. He was in a forest that reminded him of those he was sure Persephone was used to in the mortal realm. It was clearly very old, the trees having grown slightly wild. There were flowers growing everywhere, the whole thing seemed to be teaming with life. He could hear birds chirping, small animals chittering away, and the sound of a babbling brook somewhere in the distance. 

He took a step to start on his search and realized his clothes were different. Instead of the suit he had been wearing, he was now wearing his mortal realm attire, the long dark robes he wore so often for judgements. He reached up, and sure enough, his hair was long too. 

“Persephone!” he called, but there was no answer. He started to walk deeper into the forest, having to duck his head under some low hanging branches. “Kore!” he called again, but once again he was met with silence. It didn’t take him long to realize that there was a path created by where the flowers grew densest. He followed and quickly came to what he was looking for.

The grove he walked into looked like something out of a story book. In the centre of it was a picturesque forest pool, water lilies floating in it, being fed by a small waterfall. The sound of the water gently dropping into the pool created a perfect soundtrack to the scene. The forest floor here was covered in moss and ferns. Hades could feel the soft squish it created underfoot even through his sandals. The trees were so thick here that the sunlight couldn’t get all the way through the leaves which bathed the grove in a soft green light. And lying next to the pool was his perfect pink goddess, dressed in a white chiton, fast asleep.

He crept over to her, being careful not to startle her with his intrusion. He crouched down next to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

“Mhmm” she moaned, smiling. Her eyes fluttered open, but the sleepiness was still there. “Hello” she said. 

“Hi” he said, gently rubbing her shoulder.

“I came in here to be alone, but then I got so sleepy that I laid down to take a nap” she mumbled. Hades smiled, she was so cute when she was like this.

“I’m not surprised, you used a lot of power to create this place” he said. Her eyes opened fully now and she sat up a little.

“I made this place?” she asked. Hades looked at her a little shocked, she had no idea what she was capable of.

“You did” he said. “You still look exhausted, why don’t you go back to sleep?” She nodded, her eyes fluttering again. She reached around and patted the ground next to her.

“Lie down with me” she said. 

“Okay.” He lowered himself onto the forest floor, which was much softer than he thought it would be. He positioned himself so he was right up against her, and she moved so every contour of her body fit perfectly against his. He brought an arm around her and she laid her hand over his, taking a deep breath. He figured he would lie with her until she woke, but the comfort of being next to her was beginning to overwhelm him. His body relaxed, his eyes fluttered closed, and he too fell into a much needed sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First time smut.

When Persephone woke she felt so incredibly rested, and her head felt so much clearer than it had before she went to sleep. She sat up and stretched. She hadn’t noticed until now that she was no longer wearing her dress, but instead her favourite white chiton. Hades was still asleep next to her, snoring softly. She placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would wake up, but he didn’t stir.

“Wake up, sleepy head” she said softly. Hades groaned.

“I let you sleep” he mumbled. This was true, but Persephone wasn’t tired anymore, and she wanted him awake. She laid back down next to him and kissed him. He responded almost instantly, his lips moving hungrily against hers, his hand flying to her waist to pull her in closer. “Okay, I’m awake now” he said when they broke apart. He leaned in for another kiss but she had stood up. Her feet floated off the ground as she grabbed his hands and attempted to pull him up with her.

“Come on” she said as he fought against her with a flirtatious smile on his face. 

“Five more minutes” he whined. Persephone sighed and let him go. He flopped onto his back, making a squishing sound as he sank back into the moss.

“I want to go exploring” she said, touching back onto the forest floor. She loved the way her bare feet sank into the lush covering of the forest. “I still can’t believe I made all of this.” She looked around, admiring her work. “My therapist has been having me work on complimenting myself, and I have to say… I’m amazing!” 

“You are amazing” said Hades. He was sitting up now. He reached out a hand and Persephone did her best to help him to his feet. 

“Let’s go!” she said excitedly, and tried to pull him along with her, but he gripped her hand and stayed put.

“Wait” he said, his voice serious. Persephone didn’t turn to him, she didn’t want to look at him. She knew what was coming. “We should talk about what happened with Zeus.”

“Do we have to?” she asked. 

“Persephone-” he started, but she turned around, cutting him off.

“I know I have to deal with it” she said. “But honestly? I really don’t want to think about it right now. I want to explore this beautiful world I created and take advantage of this precious alone time we have together.” Hades didn’t quite look convinced, but after a moment he sighed in resignation, leaned down, and gave her a quick kiss. 

“I do like the sound of alone time” he said. “But you know, you left the entrance open, anyone could walk in here.”

“I’ll know though” she said. “I felt when you walked in, I’ll be able to tell if anyone else wanders in.” She smiled at him expectantly. “So… can we go now?”

“Let’s” he said. He laced his fingers through hers and the two of them walked out of the grove and into the rest of the forest. 

Persephone explored her new world with the gleeful fascination of a child. The forest was similar to the one back home, which is probably why she made it that way. Every turn brought a new delight; a winding stream, a small cave, a collection of fungi, even small animals that seemed to be made of pure light. Hades followed her through every joy-filled discovery, holding her hand the whole way, seeming to revel in her excitement as much as she was. She was stunned by her ability to create all this, and part of her was still having a little trouble believing it. But nothing took her breath away quite like the field of flowers.

Persephone could see they were coming up to a clearing by the way the light was changing as they got closer. She knew a break in the trees was coming, but when she reached the edge she stopped dead in her tracks. The clearing was relatively small, only spanning about 200 feet in diameter, but it was what was growing there that stopped Persephone. The entire field was filled with anemones. Anemones were most often red, but Persephone knew they could grow in a variety of colours. Every single one of these flowers were a stunning shade of periwinkle blue. She had no clue if so many anemones of such a unique shade could even grow this way in nature, but she didn’t care. They were beautiful, and that’s all that mattered.

She wandered out into the centre of the clearing, each brush of a flower feeling like a kiss against her skin. She turned back to look at Hades who was staring at her with a completely awestruck expression. No one had ever looked at her like that before, and it filled her with such love that she almost didn’t know what to do with herself. Then it hit her. She knew why she had created this clearing, why she grew these flowers here, and why she had brought Hades here. And she was ready.

She held out her hands in front of her. “Come’re” she said, and walked over and took her hands. She floated up to him and kissed him, gently but deeply. Hades responded in kind, dropping her hands and wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Her hands moved so they could grasp his broad shoulders, and then one hand began to search for the clasp she knew was hidden there, seeking to release him of the bonds of his clothing. 

His hand wrapped itself around her wrist, stopping her, and he broke from their kiss. “What are you doing?” he asked in a serious tone.

“What do you think I’m doing?” she responded playful, she leaned in to kiss him again but he moved away.

“Kore, I don’t think this is a good idea” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. He looked away from her. “After everything that happened today, I don't think you're in the right headspace.” She placed a hand on his cheek, causing him to look back at her.

“You’re sweet” she said. He gave her a sad smile. “But I’m ready for this, I promise.” He didn’t look convinced. “Every since I came to Olympus, and especially in the last few hours, I have had to think a lot about I want, what I _really_ want, and…” She paused and bit her lip, struggling to put her feelings into words. He moved his face so he could lay gentle kisses on her hand, spurring her to keep going. “I keep coming back to the same thing, everytime… I want you Hades. I want _all_ of you… more than I’ve wanted anything in my entire life…” She was out of words now, and she waited for him to respond in some way. He regarded her with an unreadable expression, and the longer he stayed silent the more nervous she got. Then, in a swift motion, he kissed her with such passion that she knew he was not only giving into her desires, but his own. 

Her lips instantly parted under his, his tongue hungrily seeking hers. The heat of her desire grew at every touch, and she could already feel herself get wet in anticipation of him. His lips moved to kiss down her neck. It felt as if every nerve in her skin was a live wire, sending shockwaves of excitement through. She fiddled with the clasps that held his robes in place. She managed to undo them, but she was pressed so closely to him that it was keeping his clothes in place. She pushed herself away from him, giving the space for his robes to fall to the ground. She could really take in the beauty of him now. She swore he must have been carved from blue marble, his muscles so perfectly sculpted. The maze of scars that decorated his chest added to the magnificence of him, as they trailed down his arms and up his neck, but stopping before they got to his chiseled face. She looked down to take in the sight of his arousal, which caused another shiver of anticipation to run through her. 

She let the clasps go on her own chiton which fell to the ground. It was his turn to look at her now, and Persephone blushed as he looked at her like she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. He reached up to her but she floated up high, so she was just out of his reach. 

“Tease” he growled seductively. She giggled, and then lowered only her face so she could kiss him again. Hades seized the opportunity, capturing her out of the air as she let out a squeal of delight. With his arms wrapped around her they tumbled to the ground, Hades on his back and Persphone on top of him, straddling his waist. She dove on his lips, kissing him hungrily, her one hand on the side of his face, the other next to his head for balance. His hands were on her hips, which were already rocking back and forth against him. As she rocked she could feel the tip of his cock against her, sending jolts of desire through her entire body.

“Roll over” he said in a low, gravelly voice. She instantly complied, rolling onto her back. He didn’t roll on top of her, as she had expected him too. Instead, he propped himself on his side. At first she was a little disappointed, she longed to feel the weight of him on top of her. Then his lips found hers again, and she realized he was using this position to explore her body. His free hand caressed every inch of her he could reach. She moaned in pleasure as his thumb traced circles around each one of her nipples in turn. Then his hand wandered downwards, and his fingers found their way to the wetness between her legs. 

She let out a gasp of pleasure as he began to touch her. As opposed to when she touched herself, she had no idea what his fingers would do, and the mystery made it all that more exciting. It didn’t take him long to find her clit, and she was so wet that his finger slid so easily against it causing her to let out involuntary moans against his lips. Then his fingers moved downward slightly to tease her entrance. He broke apart from her kiss.

“Do you-?” he began.

“Yes” she breathed instantly. He didn’t move yet however, he just held her gaze.

“You’ll tell me if I go too far, won’t you?” he said in a serious tone. She nodded. She appreciated his concern but her whole body was begging him to enter her. She brought her hand up to stroke his cheek.

“I just want you to be with me” she said in a husky voice, and with that he slid his finger inside her.

She inhaled sharply in response to the new sensation. Her body still needed to get used to accommodating anything being inside her in that way. Apparently, Hades had noticed too, her reaction causing him to pause.

“Are you okay?” he asked. She nodded again.

“It’s just… different” she admitted. “Please, I want you to keep going.” His finger began to move inside of her and she let out a strangled cry. The sensation was like nothing she had ever felt before. The way he rubbed up against her walls was making the pressure build inside of her, differently than when he rubbed her clit, but just as pleasurable. After a few moments he slipped his finger out of her, and she couldn’t help but let out a small whimper at being empty again. He chuckled darkly, and then swiftly entered her again, this time using two fingers. She cried out as she stretched to accommodate, but the sensations were even greater now. It was hard for her to believe she could even feel this way, the sensation so intoxicating she thought she might lose herself in it. Hades was clearly enjoying her pleasure as well. He nipped sensually at her neck while his fingers worked inside her. 

“W-wait” she stuttered. As much she was enjoying what was happening, she wanted something else. Hades slid his fingers out of her.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, concern starting to enter his eyes.

“More than okay” she said. “I just… I want _more_.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. The concern had left, replaced with excitement and anticipation.

“Positive” she said. He gave her a gleeful smile, brought his arm to her waist, and rolled the both of them so once again he was on his back and she was top of him. Suddenly, she started to get nervous.

“Oh. I thought-” she started, but Hades already knew where she was going.

“It’s better for you to be on top your first time, so you can have total control over the rhythm” he said. His words made sense, and did work a little to put her at ease, but she was still nervous. Almost as if he could sense it, Hades reached up and stroked her cheek, and then let his thumb graze against her lip. She shivered at the touch, and just like that her excitement overwhelmed her nervousness. She lifted her hips to position herself, and Hades reached down to help guide himself into her. When she was ready she started to ease herself down.

Again she inhaled sharply. She only had the tip of him inside her but it still felt like a lot. Similarly to earlier, the sensation was just so… different. His hands were on her hips, acting as a gentle guide. As she eased down even further, taking more of him into her, she was suddenly very grateful he had started with his fingers. 

“Fuck, Sweetness, you’re so tight” groaned Hades as she continued to take him inside of her. She paused a moment once she had taken the entire length of him, bending over so she could rest her forehead on his. Then, with Hades’ hands on her hips encouraging her, she began to move, sliding him in and out of her. She started out slow at first, falling into a lazy rhythm, but the more she moved the more her body was being rocked by such incredible sensation. She sat back up, arching her back. It felt so good to have him inside of her. She looked down at Hades and his eyes were on her, reveling in the right of her enjoyment. The pressure was building up inside her again, and she started moving faster and faster, losing herself in the sensation of his cock sliding against her walls. 

Her hands were touching him wherever she could; his neck, his shoulders, his chest. But then Hades caught one of her hands and guided it to her clit. She started to touch herself and momentarily overwhelmed. She cried out in sheer delight as she experienced the dual stimulation. She couldn’t believe how incredible this felt, in fact she couldn’t believe any being could feel this good ever. She could no longer think anymore, she acted on pure instinct, driven only by her need for him.

The pressure that had been building was threatening to break at any moment. She fell forward, catching herself with her free hand, placing it on the ground on the side of Hades head for balance. “Hades… I’m…” she tried to talk, but she could barely form the words through the haze of pleasure in her brain.

“Yes, Sweetness, cum for me” Hades growled in her ear. His tone sent shivers through her, and then Hades changed the angle of his hips underneath her, thrusting himself hard and fast into her. She cried out in ecstasy as her pleasure reached the apex, her climax sending waves throughout her entire body. Hades put a hand behind her head, his fingers gripping her hair. Each one of his thrusts was adding to the aftershocks of her orgasm. Then, with a final hard thrust, Hades let out a guttural groan of pleasure. “Oh gods yes” he breathed as he emptied himself inside her. 

After a few moments he slowly slipped out of her. Somehow it felt so strange to suddenly be empty again. She collapsed on his chest, having now more molecules left for anything else. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

“So… how are you feeling?” he asked gently and then kissed the top of her head. Persephone moaned.

“Fantastic” she sighed, feeling a little like melted ice cream, but in a good way. A sudden thought occurred to her. She snapped her head up to look at him. “Was that… good? You know, for you…?” she asked nervously.

“That was incredible” said Hades. Persephone smiled and tucked back into his chest. “You’re incredible” he murmured and kissed the top of her head again. Persephone let out another small moan and then closed her eyes. Everything about this moment was perfect, and she would have been quite alright if her and Hades could stay there until the end of time. 

Persephone didn’t quite know how long they stayed there together, but eventually Hades brought her back to reality. “We should probably get going” he murmured. Persephone sighed. He was right, even though she didn’t want him to be.

“It’s probably gotten really late” she said, sitting up. He gave her a quizzical look as he propped himself up on his elbows.

“Late? More like early” he said. Now it was Persephone’s turn to look confused. “Time tends to work differently in these places. It’s got to be past 9am now.”

“9am? Like on Tuesday?” asked Persephone, shocked. Hades nodded. “I had class at 8! I can’t believe I missed it!” Hades shook his head at her, chuckling. “What?” she demanded.

“You’re such a nerd” he replied, teasingly. She gave him a playful shove in response.

“Oh, bump off” she replied, but that only served to make him laugh harder. “100%! 100% scoundrel!” He dramatically put his hand on his heart and flopped back onto the ground.

“You wound me, madam” he said, and Persephone couldn’t help but smile. “Would it help if I said you were the cutest nerd I’ve ever met?” Persephone took a moment to consider.

“It would help 20%” she replied. “Bringing you down to 80% scoundrel.”

“I’ll take it” he said happily, and then sat up all the way, putting his hand on the back of her neck, and kissed her passionately. For a moment, Persephone thought she might lose herself in him again. Hades must have sensed it, so he broke the kiss. “We need to get dressed.”

“Do we have to?” whined Persephone, even though she already knew the answer.

“Little Goddess…” he started. His tone was warning, but still playful. Persephone sighed.

“Okay, okay” she said, and then got off him so she could stand up. They found where their clothes lay abandoned and slipped back into them. 

“Hey, do you know where my phone is?” asked Hades. “It was in my pants pocket, but after I walked in here there was a distinct lack of pants.”

“Umm…” said Persephone, unsure. In truth, she had no idea how she had even created this place. She decided to try something. She put her hand out, palm up and, concentrating on Hades’ phone, she let a burst of power surge through her. Sure enough, Hades' phone appeared in a burst of blue white late and dropped into her open hand. “Found it!” she said triumphantly, and then handed it to Hades.

“Sweet Gaia, it’s later than I thought” he said, looking at his phone. “6 missed texts and 3 missed calls, all from Hecate.” A guilty look crossed Persephone’s face. She hadn’t meant to keep him from work. Hades looked over at her, and gave her a reassuring smile. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else but here” he said, and then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He was getting really good at reading her mind. It was another reason why… Persephone started to blush.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing” she replied. “So, do you know how to get out of here?” she asked, trying to shift the focus from her red cheeks.

“It’s your world Sweetness” he said. He was right. Persephone looked around the field of flowers, concentrating on what direction they needed to go. Then it came to her, as if it had been so obvious the entire time.

“That way” she said, pointing to a gap in the trees a few feet away from them. She took his hand, and they walked over, re-entering the forest. The farther they walked, the more Persephone started to recognize her surroundings. She knew the exit would be just be around the corner, on the other side of a dense thicket of trees. She wasn’t ready for them to leave yet. There was something she needed to say to him, and she wanted to do it here, in their perfect world. 

“Wait” she said, stopping her tracks. Hades turned around to face her, a slightly confused look on his face. Persephone took a breath and then looked into his eyes, his kind, crimson eyes. “I love you” she said. Hades' face broke into a warm smile, but there was something else behind his eyes, something she couldn’t put her finger on. “What?” she asked, starting to get nervous.

“I wanted to be the first one to say it” he confessed. Persephone smiled, her heart so full it might burst. He pulled her into his arms. “I love you too, Little Goddess, more than you could ever know.” His words washed over her, causing her whole body to be flooded with pure happiness. 

Then a shiver ran through her, breaking the magic spell his words had caused. Someone had entered into her world, and the intruder was making their way quickly to them. She knew exactly who it was, and panic ran through. 

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked, responding to her turning to stone in his arms. She was barely registering what she was doing. All she was thinking about was that she had to hide Hades, fast. She leaned back as the power surged through her. Then her love was transformed, from god to sturdy elm tree. And it was just in time, because the next second, the intruder was one them. Persephone turned to greet her.

“Hello mama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger folks. This might be an unpopular opinion but I love a good cliffhanger. The good news is I've been busting out chapters like it's my day job lately, so you shouldn't have to wait too long.


	16. Chapter 16

Athena was sitting on the front step of her house, a cup of coffee in her hand. She had gone to bed last night, but decided to restart her vigil that morning, waiting for Persephone and Hades to leave the pocket dimension. It was almost 10am now, they had been in there overnight. She knew that time often distorted itself in those places, but what could they be doing in there?

No, Athena could guess _exactly_ what they were doing in there. They hadn’t said anything, but anyone who spent any time with them and had half a brain could see what was going on. She was happy for them, she really was. As much as it would have been fun to have another member of TGOEM, she couldn’t deny how happy Hades was making her friend, and that was more important after all. Not to mention this was the happiest Athena could remember Hades ever being, and he deserved that after everything he had been through. She hoped after this was resolved they would have the opportunity to be honest about their feelings to the rest of the world. Gods knew she had enough experience with hush hush relationships to know they could take their toll. She hoped-

Athena’s thoughts were interrupted by a fizz of green light appearing a few feet in front of her. The next second Demeter was standing there, looking livid. Athena swallowed hard. _Uh oh._

“Demeter!” said Athena, cheerfully. “So wonderful to see you!”

“Where is my daughter?” said Demeter, her voice dripping with rage. Athena knew she shouldn’t say where Persephone actually was, but she was really bad at lying.

“What makes you think she’s here?” asked Athena, an attempt at deflection.

“I just came back from Zeus’ office” said Demeter, and Athena’s eyes went wide. She didn’t think Zeus had it in him to call Demeter, she would need to update the chart. “He mentioned that if she wasn’t home that she might be here.”

“So… I’m guessing he told you everything?” asked Athena, still a little hopeful.

“Yes, and thank Gods someone finally did” said Demeter, and Athena’s heart sank. “I just can’t believe it _Zeus_ of all people!”

“About that…” Athena started, but Demeter interrupted.

“Where. Is. My. Daughter!” Athena tried to think quickly.

“Well she’s definitely not in the house” she replied, but she realized her eyes had involuntarily flashed to the plane trees in the empty lot. She hoped Demeter hadn’t seen, but her hopes were dashed when Demeter turned around to see what she was looking at.

“Is that the entrance to a pocket dimension?” she asked, but Athena knew she already knew the answer.

“She made that all on her own. Impressive, isn’t it?” said Athena, trying to put a positive twist on it.

“And dangerous” replied Demeter. “I can’t believe you let her stay in there all by herself.” Athena started to panic again.

“By herself? No, no, she’s not by herself…” Athena realized what she was saying. “I mean, yup, she’s totally alone in there, definitely 100% by herself.” Demeter did not appear to be buying it.

“Who’s in there with her?” she asked.

“No one” squeaked Athena.

“You’re a terrible liar” said Demeter.

“I know” replied Athena. Demeter turned and made her way across the street. “When you get back, we’re going to have a great chat about this” Athena called over to her. “Are you going to want tea for that? You know what, I’m going to put the kettle on!” Demeter did not answer, she had already disappeared between the trees.

***

It was an odd sensation, being a tree. Where once Hades had arms, they were now branches that stretched up towards the sky. Where once he had feet, he now had roots that dug deep into the ground. He could not move, he could not speak, but he could see. He watched as Persephone regained her composer just in time for Demeter to burst through the trees ahead of them.

“Hello mama” said Persephone, no hint of fear or panic in her voice.

“Kore!” said Demeter, relief clear in her voice. She pulled Persephone into a protective hug. “I was so worried about you!” Persephone tucked her head into her mother, but Demeter was looking around suspiciously. “Is there anyone else here?” she asked. _How could she have known?_

“No, mama, it’s just us” lied Persephone, not even missing a beat. “What are you doing here?”

“Zeus called me, he told me everything” said Demeter, and Hades could see a flash of panic enter Persephone’s eyes, just for a second though. “Why didn’t you tell me Kore-cob? I could have helped you!”

“I… I didn’t want to worry you” she confessed, pulling away from her mother’s embrace. “And I was afraid if I told you, you would make me move back home.”

“Well you’re right about that, at least” said Demeter. “As soon as this is all done, you’re going to be coming back to the mortal realm with me.” Persephone shook her head.

“No” she said simply.

“No?” said Demeter in shock. 

“I don’t want to go back” said Persephone. Demeter adopted a look that Hades had not seen in a long time, but he used to be very familiar with. Her temper was rising, but instead of responding to her daughter she took another look around the forest.

“Who else is here with us?” she asked.

“No one mama!” asserted Persephone, but Hades could tell she wasn’t buying it. Persephone looked as if her own temper was threatening to overwhelm her. He didn’t think either of them noticed, but the ground gave a slight shake. Then Persephone took a deep breath to calm herself. “Listen, I’m staying here. I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions, I can take care of myself.”

“Clearly you can’t if you let this happen” snapped Demeter. Any sense of calm Persephone had achieved left with that comment.

“What do you mean ‘let this happen’?!” said Persephone. Hades felt another rumble shake the ground. He started to panic. This already unstable pocket dimension was obviously tied to Persephone’s emotions, and it was very possible that it could collapse.

“Nevermind that” said Demeter. “The good news is Zeus has so graciously offered you a way to but this whole thing behind us.”

“Are you talking about his deal?” asked Persephone. “Because I don’t know what I’m doing with that yet.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You’re obviously going to sign it” said Demeter.

“Actually, I haven’t decided yet” Persephone shot back. Demeter was losing any composure she had to start with.

“What in the four realms has gotten into you?!” she yelled. 

“Nothing! I’m just not letting you control me anymore!” Persephone shouted. Hades shot a glance further into the forest. Was it just him, or did there seem to be less forest than there was before?

Demeter looked around furiously, and Hades could have sworn she looked right at him. His heart was in his throat he was so nervous. Demeter turned back to Persephone.

“Last chance, Kore” she said. “Who else is here?”

“Why do you keep asking that?!” screamed Persephone. “There’s no one-”

Demeter’s hand shot out and wrapped around Hades’ throat. He felt himself change again, turning back into himself. Demeter’s gaze was murderous, and her grip was so tight that as soon as Hades hands were free again they wrapped around her wrist. 

“Hello Aidoneus” she growled, and then flung him to the ground. Hades had forgotten how strong she was. He didn’t even have a chance to get his bearings when vines started to wrap themselves around him. “What are you doing with my daughter, you depraved-”

“Mama, stop!” yelled Persephone, getting in between them. The vines disappeared, but Hades didn’t know if Persephone had banished them or Demeter’s shock had caused them to dissipate. “You leave him out of this, this is between you and me!” Hades got to his feet but he didn’t move from behind Persephone. She was right, this was her fight, as much as he wanted to step in and help. His position had not escaped Demeter.

“Cowering behind a little girl, Aidoneus?” she spat.

“Enough mama!” said Persephone. Demeter’s gaze snapped back to her daughter. 

“Fine then!” she screeched. “Let me tell you how this is going to go! You are going to sign the deal, you are going to come home with me, and you are going to join TGOEM, and we are going to forget this ever happened. Am I making myself clear?”

“I am not letting you tell me what to do anymore!” yelled Persephone. Hades heard a crashing sound coming from far away. He turned to look behind him, and this time he knew he wasn’t imagining it, the forest was shrinking.

“Ladies-” he started, but Demeter looked at him with daggers in her eyes.

“You stay out of this, you’ve obviously done enough!” yelled Demeter.

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it” said Persephone, her tone dark. Oh no, what was she doing?

“What are you talking about?” demanded Demeter. Another rumble, and neither woman reacted.

“We need to-” started Hades, but he was cut off again.

“Don’t worry Hades, I’ve got this” said Persephone. They weren’t getting it, they were running out of time. “I’m going to make myself clear now” continued Persephone. “I’m not going to let you bully me into signing that deal, I’m sure as shit not going to back to the mortal realm with you, and even if Apollo hadn’t done what he did, it’s a little late for TGOEM now.” _Sweet Gaia, Persephone, what are you doing?_ thought Hades. Realization dawned on Demeter’s face, and if she was angry before it was nothing compared to now. 

“You” she hissed, looking at Hades. He instinctively took a step back. “Horrible.” She pushed Persephone out of the way to get to him. “Disgusting.” Hades moved back as fast as he could but he ended up backed up against a tree. “Perverted.” The vines were wrapping around him again, he couldn’t fight back if he tried. They tightened around his neck, he could barely breathe. 

Then suddenly Demeter was knocked sideways, falling to the forest floor, having been struck by something. Behind her stood Persephone, wielding a golden sceptre which she had clearly materialized, her eyes glowing scarlet from rage. The vines around Hades disappeared, and he fell to the ground, clutching his throat, breathing heavily. His eyes flew to the rest of the forest. Persephone’s rage was causing it to disintegrate faster. 

“You dare strike your mother?” hissed Demeter. She was on the ground, looking up at her daughter with a mixture of anger and fear. Hades didn’t blame her.

“If you move against the one I love, then yes, I dare” said Persephone, her voice low and quivering with an ancient power. Hades was in awe of her, but another rumble took his attention away. The destruction of the forest was almost on them. 

“We have to go-” he yelled, but he was interrupted again.

“You shut your mouth!” screeched Demeter, but it was too late now. They had run out of time, if they didn’t leave now, they would be trapped.

Hades moved as fast as he could, scooping Persphone up in his arms and running for the exit.

“What are you-!”

“We need to get out of here, this place is collapsing around us!” he yelled, silencing Persephone’s protests. He looked behind him, confirming Demeter was chasing after them. She was barely keeping ahead of the forest collapsing. The place where they had all been had already been swallowed. 

Hades made a split second call when he made it to the exit, and tossed Persephone out into safety. Demeter caught up, and Hades shoved her out as well, not caring about the consequences. Then the earth under Hades' feet began to give way, and he jumped out of the pocket dimension, landing hard on the ground of the empty lot. He looked behind him just in time to see the two plane trees crumble into dust. He let out a sigh of relief, they had made it out.

“Don’t! Don’t you dare touch me!” he heard Persephone yell. He looked over to see her floating in the air, just out of reach of Demeter who had clearly reached a hand of comfort out to her daughter. Then Hades watched as Persephone did something he wasn’t aware she could even do. A fizzing sound, a blast of pink light, and Persephone was gone. 

There was a moment of silence as both Hades and Demeter looked at the place where Persephone had been. Then Demeter turned her attention to Hades.

“This isn’t over, Aidoneus” she growled, and then she disappeared in a flash of green light. 

Hades let his head fall into the dirt, and let out a low moan. His body ached from the fall, and the vines, and he was sure being a tree didn’t help. His head ached as he tried to wrap it around what had just happened. He was going to kill Zeus.

“Hi Uncle Hades!” called Athena, and Hades lifted his head to see she was sitting on her front step, exactly where she had been the day before.

“Hi Athena” said Hades weakly. He pushed himself up with a groan.

“You were out all night, so stopped by your house to feed the pups and give them a walk” she called. 

“Thank you” he said as he stood up. He was ashamed to admit he hadn’t thought about the pack, but at least Athena had ensured that he wasn’t going home to total chaos.

“I put the kettle on, do you want a cup of tea?” she asked. Hades thought for a moment.

“You know what? Yeah, I really do” he replied, and then made his way slowly across the street to Athena’s house.

***

Persephone reappeared in her living room. She was still seething after the confrontation with her mother. Then she looked over and saw Artemis standing in the kitchen. It wasn’t often that the Goddess of the Hunt looked scared, but she did now. Her face made some of Persephone’s rage dissipate. 

“Persephone…” said Artemis hesitantly. Persephone walked over to her friend. “Your mom was here… she was looking for you…”

“Did she hurt you? Are you okay?” asked Persephone. She couldn’t imagine how her mother must have reacted towards Artemis upon finding her here without Persephone.

“I’m fine, it’s just…” Artemis trailed off, looking away. “Is something going on? Your mom seemed really upset…”

“She didn’t tell you anything, did she?” asked Persephone. Artemis shook her head and Persephone sighed in relief. “Listen, there is something happening, but I can’t tell you about it.”

“You’re really scaring me” admitted Artemis. She placed her hands on Persephone’s shoulders. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know” replied Persephone. She placed her hands on Artemis, hoping to comfort her. “But not this.” She pulled Artemis closer to her, and the two of them hugged. “I’m going to go to my bedroom” said Persephone when they pulled away. “I learned how to create pocket dimensions and I think I’m going to make another one in my room. I’m going to close the entrance this time though, I need to make sure I can be alone. I may not come out for a while so please don’t worry.”

“It’s a little late for that” said Artemis. Persephone put her hand on Artemis’ cheek.

“I’m sorry you’re caught in this” said Persephone. “If my mom comes back here, let her know where I am. And don’t let her bully you.” She gave Artemis another hug, holding her tight. Then she let go, and retired to her bedroom. 

In truth, Persephone didn’t exactly know how to do this. She closed her eyes, concentrated on her world, and let the power surge through her body. When she opened her eyes, the plane trees were back, having grown in the middle of her bedroom. She walked through them, and entered back into the forest. She turned around, and she could actually see her bedroom through a ripple in the fabric of reality. She waved her hand, concentrated on collapsing it, and the ripple sealed itself, leaving nothing but forest behind it.

She started walking, hoping the layout of this was the same as the first one she made. She was happy when she found herself in the same little grove where she had taken a nap the day before. She sat down by the water, dipping her feet into the forest pool. She closed her eyes, allowed herself to be comforted by the sound of the waterfall, the smell of the damp forest air. Her head began to clear.

She had two choices before her; sign the deal and be done with this whole endeavour right now, or go forward with the trial and continue fighting. 

She had no illusions about the difficult road ahead of her should she decide to move forward with a trial. The justice system was seldom kind to people like her. She would be up against lawyers whose job it would be to tear her story and her character to shreds. It was her word against Apollo’s, and no matter how many times she thought about that night, there were still parts of it that were fuzzy, parts of it that seemed to shift her mind. How could she testify like that? They would definitely use the fact that she said okay against her. They would paint her as a lying slut, a vindictive bitch, they may even claim she tried to use Apollo for social status and only reported the “rape” after he rejected her. Apollo would not be above using such tactics in order to keep his good name. Was she prepared to suffer them? 

Then there was the jury. Even if they did believe her, they would be presented with the choice between what is right and what is easy, and Persephone knew what they would choose, she wasn’t _that_ naive. Sure, some of them may side with her, but not nearly enough. No one wants to see “Everybodies Favourite Olympian” convicted as a rapist. Even with all the support she had behind her, it would be a hard fight to win. And if it was trial by combat, well now the fight was literal. She had come a long way in her training, but could she really take him? Did she even want to give him that opportunity, the opportunity to destroy her? She couldn’t shake the feeling that win or lose, she was going to lose part of herself along the way. Was she just putting herself in the position for him to take more of her than he already had? If that was the case, then no matter what the outcome of the trial was, he would win, and there was no way she was going to let that happen.

But signing the deal felt like giving up. It felt like admitting that what happened to her could be dismissed by the simple act of putting pen to paper. It would end everything right here, but would it really be over, in her heart? It would be so easy, but what was she just thinking about doing what was right versus what was easy? If she signed that deal, what would that say to herself about what she worth? What would say to the people who had worked so hard for her? What did it say to all of the people who had ever suffered the way she had? And what did it say to him? He already barely believed he did anything wrong, would this just be proof to him that it didn’t mean that much to her? Would it allow him to completely ignore the pain he had caused her? While she was scared she might lose part of herself if she continued the fight, she was also terrified that signing the deal meant signing part of herself away.

No matter which way she looked at her options, it was always a lose-lose.

Tears started to stream down her face. She felt horrible, like this choice was ripping her apart. She shut her eyes tight.

“Please” she sobbed, out loud. She didn’t know who she was talking to, but she pleaded to anyone or anything that was listening. “Give me a sign, show me what to do!”

“Hello” said a little voice.

Persephone’s eyes shot open. Sitting across the pool was a small child, no older than 6 or 7. She had bright pink skin, big magenta eyes, and her pink hair was styled into cute braids. She wore an off white chitton, and had white flowers in her hair. She sat with her legs crossed, looking curiously across the pool at Persephone. 

“Hi” said Persephone.

“My name’s Kore” said the child, to which Persephone was not surprised. 

“I’m Persephone” she said. She had had discussions with her therapist about talking to her inner child, but it always felt so theoretical and dissociated. There was nothing theoretical about this. Kore leaned forward onto her hands and knees, and cocked her head to the side.

“You’re me” she said. “And I’m you.” Persephone nodded.

“That right.”

Kore sat back down. She didn’t know why, but Persephone got the feeling that Kore was almost hesitant to approach her. She wanted to take the little girl in her arms and hold her, but she knew, although she again couldn’t say why, that it had to be up to Kore to do that.

“It’s been a long time” said Kore, and Persephone let out a small laugh.

“I suppose it has” she replied. “How are you?” Kore looked uncomfortable, almost sad, looking away from Persephone.

“Scared” she admitted, and Persephone felt a pang in her heart “And kind of lonely.” Persephone didn’t know how to respond. “I haven’t had anyone to take care of me lately.” 

“I can take care of you” said Peresphone without even thinking, and little Kore perked up. She rocked back onto her hands and knees. 

“Really?” she said, with the pure excitement only a child could reach. “You can do that now?”

“Of course!” said Persephone, so happy so see the little girl feeling better. “I’m older than last time we met.” Kore started to make her closer to Persephone, crawling around the banks of the pool. “I’m smarter now, too. And stronger…” Kore continued to crawl closer, still a little cautious. “Also wiser… I’ve learned a few things.” Kore was right in front of Persephone now, but she wasn’t touching her. She looked at Persephone with those big eyes of her, so full of wonder, optimism, but just the slightest touch of fear as well. Persephone wanted nothing more than to make that fear go away. 

“Can you make the bad guys go away?” she asked. Persephone smiled, her eyes beginning to prickle with tears.

“I can make the bad guys go away” she said. Kore crawled into Persephone’s lap, wrapping her little arms around Persephone’s neck. The tears were falling freely down Persephone’s cheeks as she wrapped her arms tightly around the little girl. She felt such a feeling of relief holding her in her arms. She felt love, a wholeness like she hadn’t felt in a long time. She closed her eyes.

“I’m going to take care of us from now on” she said, gently rocking Kore in her arms. “I promise.”

***

When Persephone opened her eyes she was back in her bedroom, and she was alone. She didn’t feel like her pocket dimension had collapsed, but apparently accepting and integrating her inner child had caused her to shift back to reality. She had gone in with a specific purpose, she supposed she had fulfilled it.

It was dark outside so she checked her phone. It was 3am on Thursday morning, 12 hours before her 72 were up. She quietly opened her bedroom door and snuck down the hall. She noticed that Artemis was sleeping on the couch. She went to the kitchen, and scanned the fridge for something to eat. She had been in her pocket dimension for over 40 hours, and she hadn’t eaten that whole time. She spied some leftover cheese pizza, and she shoved a few slices in her mouth as quickly as possible. 

On her way back to her bedroom she snuck a peek into Artemis’ room. Sure enough, her mother was sleeping soundly in Artemis’ bed. She went back to her room, changed into pajamas, and got into bed, thankful that she had the opportunity to get a few hours of sleep before her meeting with Zeus. As nervous as she was, she went to sleep that night with a smile on her face.

She knew exactly what she was going to do.


	17. Chapter 17

It was 2:30pm on Thursday. Hades, Eros, Athena, and Ares were all waiting outside of Olympus Headquarters. Athena and Ares were sitting next to each other on a bench. Eros was leaning up against a nearby tree, scrolling on his phone. Hades was pacing.

“Has anyone actually heard from Persephone since Demeter showed up?” asked Athena, breaking the tense silence that had befallen the group since they had arrived.

“Nope” said Ares.

“Nah” said Eros, not looking up from his phone. Hades paused in his pacing.

“No” he replied. He hated admitting that, mostly because he was so worried about her he had no idea what to do with himself. 

“So we have no idea what she’s planning on doing?” asked Athena. None of them answered. “Cool, cool, cool” she said. Hades resumed his pacing.

“Hey, can you go back to an earlier topic because I’m not over it?” asked Eros. He continued without waiting for an answer. “She turned you into a tree?” he said to Hades. 

“She panicked” said Hades, attempting to defend Persephone’s actions. “And all things considered, it wasn’t the _worst_ plan.”

“My favourite part is where you hide behind her like a little bitch” said Ares with grim amusement. Hades shot him an unimpressed look.

“Oh, and what did you do when Demeter beat with you with a pitch fork?” shot Eros. Ares paused for a moment.

“Point taken, I rescind my comment” he said. He turned to Athena. “Hey, 10 drachma says she doesn’t take the deal.”

“I’ll take that action” replied Athena, shaking his hand.

“Seriously guys? Tactless!” scolded Eros. “Besides, I’m not done with what we were talking about.” Hades sighed in frustration. “So what were you two doing in there that whole time?” he asked suggestively.

“Oh come on Eros, even I know what they were doing” said Athena. _Great, does everybody know?_

“Oh, I know what they were doing, I just want him to admit that he finally tasted her baklava” said Eros.

“That he made spring come early?” offered Ares.

“That he took her on a ride to _his_ underworld” said Eros, making a suggestive motion with his hips. Hades was desperately trying to ignore him up to that point, but his rage had boiled over.

“Seriously guys? Now who’s tactless-”

“Will you shut the fuck up!” yelled Hades, cutting off Athena. The three of them looked at him for a few moments, not daring to say anything. Then Athena broke the silence.

“You seem stressed Uncle Hades” said Athena.

“I am” growled Hades. He didn’t quite have the capacity to put all of his emotions into words, nor did he particularly want to. So instead he fell back on an old reliable. “I want a fucking cigarette!” he bellowed. 

“How long has it been?” asked Eros.

“Over a month” said Hades through gritted teeth.

“Don’t give up now Uncle Hades, you’re doing really well!” said Athena encouragingly.

“No, fuck that. You deserve one, you’ve done good” said Ares.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, two kinds of people” said Eros, but Hades barely heard him. He was sniffing him the air, the sweet smell of tobacco wafting into his nostrils. Finally he found the source, an unsuspecting satyr out for his smoke break. Hades made a move towards him, but Eros had clearly spotted him too.

“Hey buddy! I wouldn’t smoke here if I were you” called Eros. The satyr, who was looking terrified, quickly put out his smoke and quickly moved as far away from them as he could get.

“I am the King of the fucking Underworld!” yelled Hades, turning on Eros who, to his credit, seemed unphased. “If I want a fucking cigarette, I will damn well-”

“Look sharp” said Athena, interrupting him. “We’ve got incoming.” Hades snapped his head to where she was looking and saw both Persephone and Demeter flying towards them.

Both women had unreadable expressions on their faces. When Persephone touched down she didn’t even look at any of them. She just walked past them, making her way towards the entrance of the building. Hades felt hurt watching her walk passed. Her last words to him were ‘I love you’ and now she was acting like he wasn’t there. He supposed it was because her mother was there, or because she was trying to stay strong, but it still hurt. Demeter followed her, and the others fell into step behind them. Athena jogged to catch up with Demeter.

“So, what’s she going to do?” she asked. Demeter turned her face towards her, and Hades could see an uncertain expression cross her face.

“You don’t know, do you?” said Hades. Demeter shot a look back at him.

“Shut up” she hissed. Hades smiled darkly. For some reason knowing Demeter was just in the dark as the rest of them made him feel better. 

It was a long and silent elevator ride up to the conference room floor. When the elevator door opened they discovered that Zeus was not waiting for them in the conference room as he had before, but in front of the elevator bank.

“Good afternoon” he said, a warm smile on his face. Persephone totally ignored him, coolily walking passed him, making her way into the conference room. The others followed her, but Hades hung back.

“You had to call Demeter, didn’t you?” he said to his brother.

“She deserved to know” said Zeus in a tone that if Hades didn’t know any better could be mistaken for sincere. 

“Oh spare me” spat Hades. Zeus just shrugged.

“I want what I want, and I know how to get it” he said plainly. “Don’t pretend like you’re any different.” Hades did not feel like dignifying his last comment with a response. Instead he headed into the conference room. 

Apollo was already there, sitting in the same seat he was last time. He was doing an even worse job at maintaining composure this time. His hair was frazzled, there were dark circles under his eyes, and he kept shooting nervous glances towards the door. Persephone was in the same seat she was last time as well, directly across from where Zeus would sit when he came in. Demeter was sitting directly across from Apollo this time, rather than Ares. Athena was next to Persephone on her other side, Ares next to her, and Eros next to him. The only remaining seat on their side of the table would have been next to Demeter, so Hades elected to stand. While he didn’t give a shit about her at the moment, he was sure Demeter would have a problem with him sitting next to her, and he didn’t feel like dealing with that.

Zeus came in, closing the conference room door behind him, and took his seat in front of Persephone. He had a welcoming smile on his face as he regarded each of them. “Straight to business I’m guessing” he said to Persephone, regarding her face of stone. She nodded slowly, almost regally. “You’ve had your 72 hours. Are you going to be accepting my deal, or no?” Persephone took a deep breath. Could she tell the entire room was holding their breath, waiting for her to speak?

“This has not been an easy decision for me” she said steadily. “I’ve had to think a lot about what I really wanted.” She turned towards Apollo and spoke directly to him. “I want you to understand exactly how much you hurt me. I want to see you pay for what you did to me. I want to see you punished.” Her voice was shaking now, so she took a deep breath to steady it. “But more than that…” She looked away from Apollo, gritting her teeth. “I don’t want you to have another molecule of my energy… because you don’t deserve it…. I just want this to be done.” She regained her composure, her face settling back into the hard expression she had come in with. She looked Zeus right in the eye. “So I’ve decided I’m going to sign your deal.”

Zeus made no effort to hide his pleasure at this outcome. Apollo looked relieved. Demeter adopted a triumphant look. Ares gritted his teeth and hissed something under his breath. Eros looked a bit disappointed but was trying to hide it. Athena looked solemn, like she had been expecting this but still wasn’t happy to see it happen. While Hades felt a certain sense of relief in knowing that this would be over after today, and Persephone wouldn’t need to suffer any further pain that a trial would have brought, he still felt sad. I hated how hard this decision had been for her, and he also hated that she had been forced to make it. Regardless of how anyone felt, there was a distinct release of tension that happened when Persephone made her announcement. This however, was short lived.

“On one condition” said Persephone. Zeus’ face fell, a small spark fizzed near his temple. Hades could have sworn he saw Persephone’s lip twitch into a smirk for a split second. 

“And what would that be?” asked Zeus, slowly and carefully. Zeus did not like being challenged, and Hades could see him attempting to beat back the spark of his temper. Persephone turned to Apollo again.

“I want Apollo to admit what he did, and to apologize. Right here, right now.” He didn’t know how she was doing it, but Persephone somehow looked so relaxed. In this room, right now, she held all the power, and she knew it. Hades was rather amused looking at Zeus’ face, with his lips pulled into a thin line and his right eye twitching. Persephone turned back to Zeus. “He does that and I’ll sign anything you put in front of me. Then we’ll all walk out of here and pretend like none of this ever happened.” Zeus took a moment to consider, but Hades knew he wasn’t dumb enough to refuse her.

“Fine” said Zeus through gritted teeth. “Apollo, do it.” Apollo turned to Zeus, and he looked as if he were about to crawl out of his skin.

“Wh-what?” he stuttered. 

“Do it, and this all goes away” said Zeus. Apollo swallowed hard, and took a deep breath. His face changed before them, from distraught to composed. He turned to Persephone.

“Persephone” his head, his voice entirely even. “I deeply regret any action I may have done that has hurt you.” He was choosing his words carefully. “It is clear to me that some things that I’ve done have caused you severe distress.” Persephone’s face was entirely unreadable as she listened to him. “It was never my intention to hurt you in any way.” Persephone rolled her eyes. “Regardless, I am truly sorry.”

There was silence in the room once he was done. Hades knew he couldn’t be the only one thinking how insincere that apology was. But it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, it mattered what Persephone thought, and she was staring at Apollo as if she were trying to dissect him with her eyes. 

“Give me the contract” she said finally. Apollo let out a sigh of relief, and Zeus slid over the papers with a triumphant smile on his face. 

“I’ve marked everywhere you need to sign” said Zeus as Persephone began to flip through the papers. “Thetis? Hand out the NDA’s to the rest of them.” Thetis complied, handing out the papers to everyone in the room, Zeus and Apollo included. Hades didn’t bother to read his, if Persephone was signing, so were the rest of them, it was that simple. Besides, he knew Athena would go through it with a fine toothed comb, and if there was anything out of the ordinary, she would object. Once they were all signed, Thetis collected them and handed them to Zeus. “Pleasure doing business with you” he said to Persephone. And with that, the meeting was over.

Hades was watching intently. She seemed to deflate slightly now that it was over, in fact, she looked exhausted now. She didn’t get up right away, staying seated at the table while the others began to mill about.

“So that was some straight BS, right?” said Eros who was now standing right beside Hades. Hades jumped a little, he had been watching Persephone so closely he hadn’t even seen Eros get up. He figured Eros was talking about Apollo’s apology.

“Doesn’t matter now, does it?” responded Hades. Athena and Ares came up to them. Persephone was still sitting at the table with Demeter.

“He’s right” said Athena quietly. “It’s over ladies and germs.” Persephone came over to them. Hades wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and never let her go, but he knew better than to do that right now. She was looking at all of them with a sort of apprehension in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry guys” she said. Hades was confused, and he wasn’t the only one.

“What on earth do you have to be sorry for?” asked Athena, her voice tender. Persesphone looked embarrassed.

“It’s just that… you guys worked so hard and I just-” she started, but she was cut off by Athena wrapping her arms around her. Persephone looked a little shocked at first, but then accepted Athena’s hug.

“You have nothing to apologize for” said Athena. “What you did today was so very brave, and we are all so proud of you.” Persephone smiled, and Hades felt his heart begin to fill with joy. It was over, and his love could finally have peace.

“Alright Athena, stop hogging her” said Eros, who was clearly waiting to hug his best friend. 

“No” said Athena, a little childishly. Persephone giggled, and Hades realized she had started crying a little. Demeter came over to them then and the smile fell from Hades’ face. 

“Come Persephone, it’s time we go” she said, placing a hand on Persephone’s shoulder. Her tone was calm, serious, but with a slight edge to it.

“Where?” questioned Persephone, regarding her mother with suspicion. Demeter sighed.

“Back to Artemis’” she said. Persephone perked up a little, and Hades had to admit, so did. This was not what he was expecting. “I am prepared to discuss the circumstances under which I would allow you to remain in Olympus.” 

“Really?” said Persephone, her voice full of hope.

“I’m not making any promises, but-” Demeter was cut off by Apollo, who was passing them on his way out of the conference room.

“Pity they way things turned out, isn’t Persie?” he said. Hades felt the rage from early flare up inside him again. How dare he speak to her, after what had just happened. “Oh well.” All of them were glaring at him. How did he not know when to shut up? “I guess we’ll always have the memories.”

And then a force exploded throughout the entire room, knocking everyone off their feet. A bright white light filled the entire room and Hades could barely see a thing. He had hit his head on something when he fell, he didn’t know what though. His ears were ringing, and there seemed to be some sort of invisible force pinning him to the floor. Finally he got his bearings, his eyes adjusting to the light, and he could see what the source of the explosion was. 

Persephone was floating in the air in the middle of the conference room. Her hair had grown out and was floating all around her, red vines mixed in with the pink locks. She had Apollo pinned against the wall, vines wrapped around his legs, his wrists, his throat. Two tree branches had grown out of her back like wings, and her eyes, instead of the crimson colour he had come to expect when she was enraged, were glowing pure white light. In fact, her entire was emanating a pinkish glow. There was no doubt about it, this was her primal form. 

“You should have stopped talking when you had the chance” she said. Her voice was deeper than Hades had ever heard it, and the sound of it so loud it filled the entire room. It was almost as if he wasn’t just hearing it, but feeling it as well, resonating deep in his core.

“Somebody stop her!” shouted Zeus. Hades knew he was speaking as loud as he could, and somehow he sounded so far away.

“Do we have to?” he heard Ares ask. Hades understood where Ares was coming from, especially seeing the look of terror on Apollo’s face, but he couldn’t help but be concerned for the toll this amount of power would take on Persephone. 

“You act like you’re so special, like your presence is a gift to us all” said Persephone. “You might be a Sun God, Apollo, but I swear, you act like the sun shines out of your damn ass!” A wind started to whip around the room, sending papers, pens, and pieces of broken chairs flying around. Hades had to duck to make sure he didn’t get taken out by a rogue water pitcher. 

“She is destroying my conference room!” shouted Zeus.

“Oh, nobody gives a shit!” Athena yelled back. Zeus looked ready to retort, but he didn’t have the chance as Persephone spoke again.

“You are a small, pathetic excuse for a god” continued Perseophone. “You are shackled by a crippling desire to constantly make yourself feel important. You think if you keep talking then no one will find out how truly insecure and insignificant you really are, which is why-” One of the light fixtures in the conference room exploded, thankfully Zeus managed to redirect the shower of sparks so they didn’t land on anyone. “You never-” Another light blew. “Shut up!” The final light shattered, and now the only light source in the room was the sheer power radiating off Persephone. 

“She’s going to-!” started Demeter, but Athena cut her off.

“She won’t kill him, don’t worry!”

“I should shut you up right now” growled Persephone, the vines beginning to tighten even more around Apollo’s throat. Apollo looked like his eyes were about to burst out of his skull they were so wide.

“Spoke too soon on that one sis” shouted Ares, although he wasn’t hiding his amusement in this situation. Hades, on the other hand, was starting to get scared. If Persephone killed him, there would be a lot of consequences he was sure she wasn’t prepared to deal with. Revenge was one thing, murdering a fellow god in the office of the King of the Gods was something else entirely.

“I should snuff out that little light of yours” said Persephone, floating closer to Apollo. 

“Kore! Please-” shouted Demeter, starting towards her daughter. Without looking away from Apollo, a section of Persephone’s hair reached back and struck Demeter, sending her flying. She hit the wall and slumped down onto the floor. 

“It would be so easy for me” said Persephone. A crackling sound caused Hades to look over at Zeus, who had summoned a lightning bolt into his hand. Fear gripped Hades’ heart at the thought of Zeus using that on her. Thankfully, or not, he didn’t get that chance.

“Persephone-!” he yelled as he started fighting his way towards her. Again, without looking at him, Persephone’s hair wrapped around one of the less damaged office chairs and hurled it at him. The attack caught Zeus off guard and he was knocked sideways, the lightning bolt fizzing out of existence. 

“And so satisfying” said Persephone, her face inches from Apollo’s. Hades knew what he had to do. He struggled to stand, fighting against the hold that Persephone seemed to have on the entire room. Then, with a breath, he let his own power flow through him, connecting himself to the raw energy of the universe, and he entered into his own primal form. Like this, it was easy for him to walk up to Persephone, her power unable to hold him back anymore. 

“Sweetness” he said, and although his voice was quiet, Persephone’s head snapped to look at him. Her face softened slightly when she saw him, recognizing him through the haze that her primal form had casted on her. “He’s had enough” he said and extended his hand towards her for her to take. She looked at it for a moment, but then her brow furrowed and her mouth stretched into a growl. She turned back to Apollo, tightening the vines around his throat again. Apollo gasped for breath, but his face was starting to turn colours. “No!” shouted Hades, and Persephone turned back to him. “He’s not worth it!” The vines around Apollo’s throat lessened slightly, but still didn’t let him go. Hades held out his hand again. “Please” he begged. Persephone’s hand tentatively reached towards him. His eyes never left her, and he smiled encouragingly as her fingertips finally touched his.

As soon as they touched the hold Persephone had on the room dissipated. The wind stopped, making the projectiles drop wherever they were. The vines holding Apollo disappeared and he fell to the ground. Persephone’s wings shattered into light, and she fell out of the air. Hades had to move quickly but he caught her, holding her close to his chest. He let his own power go, returning back to his normal state. He could hear the other beginning to stir as well, but he didn’t care. Persephone was shaking in his arms, so he held her as tight as he could and stroked her hair. 

“I-I-” Persephone stammered, but her voice was so weak.

“Shh, it’s okay” said Hades. “Don’t say anything, just be.” Her body heaved in his arms and Hades knew she was sobbing. It wasn’t an uncommon reaction to unleashing a primal form for the first time, especially on accident. Her body needed to release, and tears were the easiest way to do it. It didn’t make it any easier though, as Hades fought back his own tears as she shook and cried. Hades looked up to see Apollo hadn’t gotten up from where he fell. He was awake though, staring at Persephone, frozen in fear. “I would run now, if I were you” growled Hades. To his credit, Apollo took Hades’ advice, and scampered as fast as he could out of the conference room. Hades then looked to Zeus, but his brother was keeping his distance. Hades nodded at him, a signal that Hades would take care of this. Zeus nodded back in acknowledgement. 

Hades’ attention was drawn back to Persephone as she pushed on his chest in an attempt to sit up. Hades still kept his hands on her, her arms were still so shaky. “Careful love” he said as she lifted her head. 

“How-how do you…?” she stuttered, and Hades could guess the question she was asking.

“You get used to managing the power” he replied. She nodded slowly in acknowledgement.

“I feel so dizzy” she said, and let her head fall back against his chest. Hades kissed the top of her.

“That’s completely normal” he said, stroking her hair again. “You just need to take it easy.” She nodded against his chest. Demeter came over to them. Her expression, while clearly full of concern for her daughter, was also soft. Regardless, Hades instinctively stiffened, which caused Persephone to look up. Demeter put a hand on Persephone’s shoulder and gave her a warm, comforting smile. Persephone’s lip began to quiver.

“Mama!” she cried, and then threw herself into Demeter’s arms. Demeter wrapped her arms around Persephone, holding her in a tight embrace. As much as Hades wanted to keep holding her, he also knew how important a mother’s love could be.

“It’s okay now Kore-cob” said Demeter. “Can you stand?” she asked. Persephone leaned back from her. Demeter still kept her hands on her as Persephone checked her legs, and nodded when she found the shaking had subsided enough for her to stand up. “Good” said Demeter, and then a sad sort of smile crossed her face. “I think it’s time we go home.”

Hades was gripped by fear. _Home? She didn’t mean-?_

“What?” said Persephone, both shocked and panicked as she caught up to what her mother was saying. Hades felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

“No!” he cried out, but the green light was already beginning to form around Demeter and Persephone. He couldn’t lose her, not now, not like this.

“Hades!” Persephone cried. She was almost consumed by the green haze now, but Hades could still see her trying to wrestle herself from her mother’s grasp.

“Persephone!” Hades yelled. He reached out for her but his hand wrapped around nothing but air. It was too late. She was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give a little explanation of why I had Persephone sign the deal. As many of you probably know, in the original mythos Apollo does in fact try to court Persephone but is (obviously) unsuccessful. There is no myth saying that he rapes her, that was something that Rachel took artistic licence with. I thought Persephone signing a deal that would prohibit her (or anyone she told) from ever speaking about it would explain WHY there is no myth. That being said, I couldn't leave our girl without some smack down.
> 
> Also, there's going to be another time skip. The next chapter is going to cover everything that happens during this time skip in a way that (I hope) is fun and creative. As always, thank you guys so much for reading. Love you!


	18. Chapter 18

_Dear Hades,_

_It has been one week since I’ve been back in the mortal realm, and it has been… interesting. To be fair, I spent the first day and a half pretty much unconscious. What happened in the conference room… well, that really took it out of me. Once I started to feel normal again though, that’s when the weirdness began. I thought my mother would be livid, and she is, but… Well, there’s no other way to put it, she’s in denial. She is basically refusing to acknowledge anything about my time in Olympus. She is acting as if the last two months never happened, and if anyone says anything to contradict that she snaps._

_For example, the other day she brought up the topic of TGOEM, and I had to remind her that I am no longer eligible. She tried ignoring my protest, but I started to get really frustrated. This led to a pretty intense argument, and I may have said some things I probably shouldn’t have. In the heat of the moment I may have said something about your penis… and my enjoyment of your penis… which, while entirely true, I sort of regret screaming at my mother. Anyway, hopefully she calms down soon. I’m finding it easier just to buy into her fantasy, at least for the time being. I want to have a real discussion with her, like an adult, but that’s basically impossible right now. I guess I just have to wait._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_Hestia and Artemis came to visit me today. It turns out before she signed the NDA, Athena told them about what happened. Well, she didn’t tell them who, or when, or how, she really only told them that I had been raped and left it at that. I know I should be mad at her, but I’m not, I’m actually kind of grateful. I’m relieved they know, now I don’t need to hide it from them. Hestia offered that I could still join TGOEM, she told me that given the circumstances that she could consider my eligibility. I told her no. Then I told her and Artemis about us. Hestia was… disappointed, but she understood. She hugged me, they both did, and told me that it was okay, that they still loved me, and respected my choices. I was so happy I cried. Athena was right, I didn’t lose them. I could tell my mom was less than happy though. She obviously thought Hestia would do her best to convince me to join TGOEM so when she didn’t… well, I’m sure you can imagine the look on her face._

_I don’t know for sure, but I think Artemis knows who raped me. There was something in the way she looked at me, or more accurately couldn’t look at me. I wanted to tell her that it’s not her fault what her stupid brother does, but how do you talk about it when you’re not allowed to talk about it? Still, I told her it wasn’t her fault, that she did everything she could to protect me, and some things are just out of our control. I think it made her feel better, but it’s hard to tell. I just don’t want her to feel bad._

_Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. I miss you like crazy, and I really wish you were here right now._

_Your Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_Well, it’s official; this letter is being written by a college drop out. The paper work just got finalized this morning. I’m trying not to let it get to me too much. I’ve been reading my text books, trying to keep up with the coursework by using my syllabi as a guide, but it’s just not the same. I mean, why did I even want to go to college anyway? So I could get a degree so that I could spend the other 9 months of the year that aren’t springtime cultivating a meaningful career, proving to everyone, including myself, that I’m not just some dumb village girl, and in fact can be a productive and important member of Olympus society? Do I even still want that?_

_Yes, yes I do. If I’m being honest, I’m a little devastated right now. But I just need to get over it, at least for now. I’m sure at some point my mom will calm down and we can talk about the possibility of me going back to school, but I have a feeling that’s not going to happen for a while. Oh well, I can wait. We are immortal after all, so I guess I’ve got the time._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I got into a pretty nasty fight with my mom today. It was about therapy. I hadn’t realized how big of an impact going to see my therapist really had on my life until I wasn’t seeing them anymore. I asked my mom if I could start going again. This did not go well. I guess acknowledging that I even have a need to go to therapy would in turn acknowledge that something traumatic happened to me would, in turn, acknowledge my time in Olympus, or as I like to call it now, ‘The Lost Time’. I tried to tell her there were other reasons for me to attend therapy other than the events of ‘The Lost Time’, but unfortunately this is where things started to turn sour. Apparently when asked ‘Well why do you need to go to therapy anyway?’, the appropriate answer is not ‘I don’t know, have you tried looking in a mirror?’_

_Needless to say, I’m grounded now. Not that that’s much different from how I’ve been spending most days. Just, instead of being confined to the grounds of the estate, I’m confined to my room. I had been sending much more time there anyway, so it’s not really that big of a deal. It gives me more time to write to you._

_Your Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_So I’ve got good news and bad news. I’ll start with the bad news._

_The bad news is I had an itsy bitsy panic attack this morning. Not a big one, but still, a panic attack. I tried to leave my bedroom to go to the washroom, and I don’t know if my mom locked me in or I was just being a dummy with the door knob, either way, I couldn’t get out. I got really claustrophobic and started screaming and banging on the door. When my mom found me it was full blown panic attack town. She did a really good job of talking me down, kind of like you, which got me thinking that maybe she’s had them before…_

_Anyway the good news is my mom has now accepted my need for therapy! I still can’t go _see_ my therapist per say, but they do remote appointments, which is awesome! I get to use my mom’s computer for exactly one hour, once a week, for a video call with my therapist. I managed to get an appointment booked for tomorrow afternoon and I can’t tell you how excited I am. _

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_Artemis dropped by today to drop off the last of my things from her house. I’m sure you can guess already that my phone and my laptop were both immediately confiscated. It sucks, but I have survived without technology for almost 20 years so I’ll be alright._

_Artemis also gave me a present as well. I couldn’t believe it, she gave me her punching bag! That thing was so helpful the last month I was in Olympus, and she said she thought at this point I needed it more than she did. I don’t know if she’s right, but I sure am appreciative. Now not only can I keep my training up, I can also take some good anger out on the bag. Maybe if I can release some of my pent up emotion on the bag I’ll be less snippy with my mother. I only ever think about picking my battles after I’ve opened my big mouth._

_I am no longer grounded, technically, which means I have the run of the grounds again. This at least gives me the opportunity to work in my section of the garden, which has been a project of mine since I got back. Hopefully soon I may be able to venture to some places off the grounds, although probably only if accompanied. I live for the small victories at this point._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I have a confession to make. I realized that there is a very important fact about me that you do not know, and in fact, I sort of hid from you when we were together. My birthday was March 21st, which means I’m 20 now, and have been for a few months._

_I know, you’re probably thinking, ‘but you were in Olympus then, why didn’t you say anything?’ and that would be because… well… with everything going on at the time, I really didn’t feel like celebrating. And then the longer I kept it to myself, the weirder it felt to bring it up. I figured I’d wait and it would just come up eventually and we’d all laugh about it. I’m sorry I never said anything... But hey, if you think you feel bad, imagine how Eros is going to react!_

_Speaking of Eros, I haven’t talked to him since I came back. Given the nature of my activities during ‘The Lost Time’ and the fact that he’s the God of Sexual Love and all, my mom’s not exactly his number one fan at the moment. It sucks. I miss him a lot. Almost as much as I miss you._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I had more surprise visitors today! Athena and Ares dropped by. I swear, my mom was about to physically toss Ares off the grounds, thank Gods Athena was with him! I threw together a quick picnic and we set up on this gorgeous spot just off the grounds. Actually, it was the same spot I used to meet Ares. It was so wonderful catching up with them. Apparently they’re both working on this big campaign right now in the mortal realm. They asked me if I wanted to come with them and help out. I said no. Aside from the obvious reasons (looking at you, mom), I’m just not really a warrior at heart. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I think I’ve proven that I can hold my own if needed but… it’s hard to explain… it’s like it’s nice knowing I can visit that place if I need to, but I don’t want to live there. Athena understood, Ares less so, but that’s Ares._

_Ares said Eros is doing okay, but he really misses me. I asked Ares if there were any updates on Psyche, but it turns out Ares had no idea about that. Athena said you haven’t left the Underworld since I left. She hasn’t actually talked to you, you’ve been pretty reclusive, but Zeus has been complaining about you being even more of a killjoy then normal. I know they can wear on you sometimes, but they’re your family, and they just want to help you, in their own way. Maybe some time with them might be good. They must miss you, I know I do._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I have the most fascinating story to tell you! I was taking a walk around the grounds today by myself. I decided to take a little risk and venture off the grounds. I figured if I got caught I could play dumb and say I hadn’t realized where I was wandering. Either way, I happened across a mortal sitting on her own on a hill. She was the most beautiful mortal woman I had ever seen, and she was crying. I felt so sorry for her, so I turned into a butterfly so I could talk to her and find out why she was crying. It turns out she had this huge pile of wheat, barley, millet, poppy seed, peas, lentils, and beans, and they were all mingled together in this huge heap. She had to sort them all into separate piles before the end of the day, and if she didn’t, she would never see her love again._

_Well, my heart just broke for her. As I’m sure you know, I know a little something about not being able to see the one you love. So, I recruited some help: ants. I went and spoke to all the ants I could find and they all helped her sort through the pile. Low and behold, we finished in time. She was so happy. Whoever her love is must be so lucky for her to love them so much._

_Okay, now that I’ve written this out, it doesn’t seem like that interesting a story. I suppose this is what my life has come to… Oh well, at least I got to help someone._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I have done something shameful on this day. I was doing a bunch of baking, as you know I enjoy. I tried out this new bread recipe. It was a garlic rosemary focaccia bread, a little bit of cracked sea salt on top too, really good. It comes out of the oven, looking amazing, and of course I need to try a piece, you know quality control. So I have a piece, and the bread is all warm with it being fresh out of the oven and that, and it is the best bread I have ever tasted. So naturally, I have another piece. The next I know, I have eaten the entire thing. Yes, you read correctly. I ate a whole loaf of bread in one sitting._

_On the one hand, I am not happy with myself, but on the other hand, damn it was good bread. I think the moral of this story is relationships come and go, but carbs are forever. Before you ask, I do have an appointment with my therapist tomorrow. I have a feeling we’re talking a lot about unhealthy coping mechanisms._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_Guess who I got a visit from today! The Furies! My mom was fury-ous… I’m so funny! Then Alecto said something to her about us all being sisters or something and my mom backed off for some reason, I don’t know, and I don’t really care, because it meant I got to hang out with them all day. They told me about all their adventures in the mortal realm lately, and I told them what I had been up to. Every time I talk about my life with someone, I realize how sad it is…_

_Anyway! They also told me about you. I guess they sort of suspected us the whole time, but when I left they knew for sure we had been together. I thought Meg would be mad, or sad, and she was sad, but she also said she thought we were good together, and that made her happy. Also, sisters before misters._

_They told me you’re not doing so well. They said you’re doing your best at hiding it, which I get, you’re not exactly forthcoming when it comes to your emotions, but they’ve known you long enough and they can tell. You’re either spending the majority of your time at the office or spending it drinking. Tis did say you were never drunk at the office, which is good I guess, but she could tell you haven’t been to bed sober in weeks. I feel awful. I don’t want you to feel like that because of me… I mean, I guess I would have been hurt if they told me you were doing great without me but… I guess I hoped you were at least doing okay. I mean, I’m doing okay… I think… maybe…_

_Before they left they asked if I had any messages to send over. I told them to tell you to go visit the bath boutique that you like to go to in the Underworld. Hopefully they pass on the message, there’s a surprise waiting there for you that should make you feel a little better._

_Your Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_Did you do it? Did you go? Did you see it? Isn’t it awesome?!_

_The nymph who owns the shop came by a few weeks ago to pick up her order of lavender and we got to talking. I may or may not have convinced her that my roses are better than my mother, which, in my defense, is not wrong, I mean they’re my specialty for a reason. Anywho, she bought a whole bunch and crafted a new special bath bomb with my roses. She even called them ‘Kore’s Creation’! She sent me some complimentary and I’ve got to say, they’re really nice!_

_I hope we went to the shop and picked up a few. And then you can have a bath and let the scent of my roses relax all of your senses. Nothing’s more relaxing than a bath and a glass of wine. On second thought, maybe don’t have the glass of wine. Maybe have some of that elderflower soda you used to make me, I’m sure the syrup is still in your fridge. And skip the gin, just soda._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I met a mortal boy in the woods today. He was no more than 16, and he was out hunting all by himself. When I found him he had been stuck by a wild boar. He was bleeding out. I ran to him, I didn’t even bother changing my form. I cradled his head in my lap, I told him everything was going to be alright, that I was a Goddess, that I could heal him. But before I could heal him, Thanatos came. He said it was too late, that the boy needed to go with him. I cried, I wanted to save him, but Thanatos was right._

_The boy was scared, he didn’t want to go. I tried to reassure him. I told him not to be afraid of you. I told him you were a good man, a fair man, and you would judge him well. I also told him that if he was still scared, he could tell you that Persephone Goddess of Spring said that he was a very good boy, and deserved to be treated kindly. He smiled at that._

_Before he left, Thanatos apologized to me. He said he may not like me very much, but that doesn’t mean he wanted to see me hurt. I appreciated that. I mean, it’s not like you need to like someone to respect them… and I do respect Thanatos… he treated the boy so well when he took him. Before they left though, I gave the boy an obal. I’ve gotten into the habit of carrying a few with me at all times, just in case._

_Anyway, I have to stop writing now. I’m starting to cry again and I don’t want to smudge the ink._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I am writing this letter at 3am because I can’t sleep. And not because of some sad or melancholic reason… okay, maybe… but mostly because the sky is just so beautiful tonight. I fear my handwriting is going to suffer in this letter because I just can’t tear my eyes away from the sky. The moon is full and the stars are shining brighter than I’ve ever seen them. It reminds me of looking at the sky in the Underworld. I still remember the first time I saw it. I was so confused how it could be dark at 9am… but I was still so in awe of its beauty._

_I know it’s silly, but I can’t help but hope that you’re out there somewhere, looking up at the same stars as me, thinking about me while I’m thinking about you. And I know that technically if you’re looking at the Underworld sky and I’m looking at the Mortal Realm sky, we’re not looking at the same sky… and you’re so rarely in the Mortal Realm so I doubt that we’re really ever looking at the same sky… but still… it’s a nice thought… I miss you so much…_

_There it is, I found the sad thing._

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_Okay. So. Today has been a VERY emotional day._

_Hestia came over and had a very long talk with my mom in private. I heard shouting at some points, and crying, and when they were done my mom’s eyes were all red, and Hestia looked kind of sad. I’m starting to realize there’s a lot about my mother I don’t know. I know she’s been through some things… I guess many of the same things you went through… and she’s never spoken about any of it. I’m sure it’s hard for her… it must be hard for you too._

_It’s worth noting that I’m not really angry with my mother anymore. I’m not happy, that’s for sure, and I don’t like what she’s done or what she’s doing… but there’s a lot of energy in anger that I’m just too tired for. I’m starting to get the feeling that a lot of this actually has nothing to do with me, but is actually all about her. And that makes me sad. I feel like I’ve lost her, in a way. I don’t want things to go back to the way they were but… I miss my mama…_

_After Hestia was done talking with my mom, her and I had a private chat in my room. She confirmed that a lot of this is really about my mom, which didn’t exactly make me feel better about it. She also said she’s doing this because she loves me and is scared for me, but she said she thinks she’s missing the big picture, which I agreed with. Then she asked me if I loved you, and at first I said this wasn’t about you, this was about my freedom. She said she knew, and she still wanted to know if I loved you. I said yes. Of course I do. And then… Oh Hades, she gave me back the coat! She apologized for how she handled the whole thing with the tabloid and she gave me your coat back! I’m so happy, I haven’t taken it off!_

_After our talk, my mom asked about the coat, and I realized she has no clue about the tabloid. I just said it was a gift from Hestia, which wasn’t a total lie, I mean she just gifted it back. I couldn’t believe it, but Hestia actually played along. She said ‘I know it’s not her usual style, but I saw it in the window and I couldn’t help but think of her.’ Like, is Hestia the cool aunt now? Who knew! Anyway, I could tell my mom wasn’t totally impressed, probably because the coat’s so modern, but she didn’t make a fuss._

_It’s so warm and soft, it feels like you’re hugging me!_

_Yours Forever,  
Persephone_

_***_

_Dear Hades,_

_I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m actually a really guarded person. Most people think I’m an open book because when it comes to my emotions I wear my heart on my sleeve. But I do tend to keep a lot of things close to my chest. I have a lot of secrets, secrets I find very hard to share. I mean, there was a time I didn’t even want to share them with you. And while I haven’t told you all of my secrets, I do feel like I could tell you anything now. Maybe that’s why writing these letters to you feels very much like writing in a diary. Also because you’ll never read them, because I haven’t been sending them._

_At first it was just too risky. It didn’t matter if I were to send them through Hermes or any of my other visitors, there would have been a really good chance my mother would have found out. I want her to trust me, so I can have my freedom back, and I thought the easiest way to do that would be to follow her rules and be good. You know, pick your battles._

_But the more I think about it, 2 months is really not a long time in the grand scheme of things. I mean, you lived 2 millenia before you met me, 2 months must feel like the blink of an eye to you. And the more I hear about you not handling things very well, the more it makes me think._

_We’re immortal, so it is very likely that one day you and I will see each other again. But I don’t know when that’s going to be. It could be tomorrow. But more likely it won’t be until years from now, and it’s unfair of me to ask you to wait for me… as much as I want to. I feel like if I sent you these letters, then it would give you something to hold on to, and the healthy thing for you to do… for both of us to do… is to let go. As hard as that may be._

_I know this probably sounds really hypocritical from someone who has signed every single one of these letters with “Yours Forever”. But I think, no, I know that I will be yours forever, in a way, just maybe not in the way I once imagined. I’m not giving up on us, I’m really not, but sometimes we need to adapt in order to survive. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned since my time in Olympus it’s that I am a survivor… and so are you._

_I’m still going to keep writing these letters though. I understand I need to let go, but I’m just not ready to yet._

_Yours Forever (Still),  
Persephone_

_PS. I can’t believe I almost forgot. Hera’s coming tomorrow for lunch. I’m super excited. Here’s hoping she tells me you’re doing much better. I could use some good news._


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: rape/sexual violence
> 
> Extra long chapter. There some more heavy stuff at the beginning, but after almost 3 chapter full of heartbreak, I wanted to end this one on the promise of shenanigans. Don't worry, our babies find their way back to each other soon.

It had been a long time since Hera had been to Demeter’s estate, and she was remembering just how difficult it was to find a room that was not covered in plant life. The room she was in now, Demeter’s study, had vines growing everywhere, colourful flowers that a wide assortment of butterflies were feeding from, and a tree growing in the middle of it. The Golden Queen was seated in a large wingback chair, waiting for her friend to join her. She lit a cigarette, figuring she had time for a smoke while she waited. Demeter came in about a minute later.

“Please don’t smoke in here” she said with an unimpressed tone. Hera rolled her eyes and put out her cigarette on the arm of the chair, making Demeter twitch. She sat down in the other wingback in the room. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” 

“Can’t I just want to catch up with one of my oldest friends?” said Hera.

“I thought that’s what lunch was for” replied Demeter. Hera sighed.

“Fine, I want to speak with you about your daughter” said Hera, and now it was Demeter’s turn to roll her eyes. 

“Everyone has a lot to say about her recently” said Demeter bitterly. 

“Hestia let me know about the little chat you two had the other day” said Hera. Demeter’s mouth hardened into a tight line, clearly unimpressed. “Come now, Demi, don’t be like that. She’s just worried about you, that’s all. We all are.”

“Don’t give me that ‘We Six need to stick together’ rhetoric again” spat Demeter. “It’s getting really old.”

“Oh no, the boys can go fuck themselves” said Hera. Her expression softened. “We Daughters of Metis need to stick together.” For a split second, Demeter looked like she was going to throw up, which caused a confused expression to cross Hera’s face. Then Demeter got up out of the chair, turning her back to Hera.

“At least Hestia’s been in Persephone’s life since she was born” said Demeter. “Do you really expect me to believe you give a damn about her?”

“I’m hurt” said Hera. “Of course I care about her, and I care about you too.” Demeter didn’t answer, so Hera continued. “You can’t keep her locked up here forever, that didn’t work out so well before-”

“I know, I remember, I was there!” interrupted Demeter. “But if I just let her do whatever she wants, she’s going to run straight back into his arms.”

“So?” said Hera casually. Demeter turned back around to stare at her in disbelief. “What’s the big drama? I don’t get it.”

“You have got to be kidding me” said Demeter. 

“I’m not” said Hera. “Hades did a job none of us wanted to do. He did that for us, so no, I don’t understand this ridiculous grudge you hold against him. I didn’t understand it then, and I don’t understand it now.”

“So let me get this straight” said Demeter, a hint of malice entering her voice. “You’re suggesting that because Hades made this grand sacrifice for us, I should give him my daughter as a reward? Thereby condemning her to the same fate?” Hera sighed in frustration. 

“That’s not what I’m saying, you know what I’m saying” said Hera, exasperated. “And for the record, nobody’s condemning anybody, this Persephone’s choice, not yours.”

“So I should just let her throw her life away on a childish whim?” asked Demeter.

“Childish whim?” repeated Hera in disbelief. “She’s not a child!”

“Barely!” spat Demeter.

“And what were you doing at 20?” asked Hera, making Demeter pause. “What were we all doing?”

“That’s not the same and you know it” said Demeter, much more serious than before. “We all had to grow up way too quickly. I never wanted that for her.”

“Well it didn’t stop her from growing up” said Hera, tenderly. “She’s an intelligent, strong, mature young woman, who is perfectly capable of making her own decisions.”

“Then why him?” asked Demeter. There was almost pleading in her eyes when she asked the question.

“She loves him” said Hera, almost instantly. “And he loves her too.” Once again, Demeter didn’t respond. “He’s good to her Demi, he’d give her the world if she asked, isn’t that enough?”

“But he can’t give her everything” said Demeter quietly.

“What are you talking about?” asked Hera. 

“Please” said Demeter, but Hera still stayed silent. “We all know, even though we never talk about it.” Still, Hera stayed silent. “While certainly not as prolific as his brothers, he certainly hasn’t been celibate for two thousand years, and what does he have to show for it?” Hera’s face fell into an unimpressed expression. 

“Okay, I get what you mean” she said flatly.

“Nothing” said Demeter, answering her own question. “Shooting dust as the kids say.” Hera pursed her lips.

“It’s not like she was going to be having kids in TGOEM” snapped Hera. “Besides, there’s more than one way to skin a cat or else you, and me, and Persephone for that matter, wouldn’t be here.” 

“What if that’s not what she wants?” asked Demeter. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, we’re talking about them getting married tomorrow” said Hera. “And besides, that’s not your choice to make, now is it.” The two women stayed in silence for a moment. “Please Demi, sit back down” said Hera eventually. Demeter hesitated, but then slid herself back down into the other wingback chair. “He’s a good man, Demi.” Demeter said nothing, in fact, she didn’t even look at Hera. “I just wish you could know him the way I do-”

“How could I?” said Demeter, cutting Hera off. The malice from earlier was back in her voice. “I don’t run to him every time there’s trouble in my marital bed.” Hera froze, shocked.

“I don’t know what you mean” she said quietly. Demeter’s lips curled into a sinister smile that made Hera look away nervously.

“Then maybe I should speak more plainly” said Demeter. “I wasn’t aware that good men fucked their brother’s wives.” Hera did something she didn’t often do, she blushed. 

“You know about that?” said Hera, refusing to look at Demeter.

“I mean, I’ve had my suspicions from the beginning” said Demeter. “You two have always been rather… close.”

“We haven’t done that in years” admitted Hera. 

“A small solace” said Demeter. Hera’s lips had morphed into a thin line, and her eyes had been robbed of any warmth they once had. 

“And not that it’s any of your business” spat Hera, “but a few months ago I attempted to rekindle that flame, and he said no.” 

“What growth” said Demeter, sarcastically.

“Because of Persephone!” shouted Hera. “Because as soon as he met her he had feelings for her, because she makes him a better person!” 

“And is that supposed to make me feel better?” asked Demeter. “Am I supposed to be happy that my daughter is his consolation prize?”

“Consolation prize?!” Hera shouted back in both shock and frustration. Now it was her turn to stand, her anger making it impossible for her to stay sitting. “Why are you insisting on painting Hades as the villain in this story?”

“Because he is!” snapped back Demeter.

“No, that would be you!” yelled Hera. Demeter was taken aback, and Hera used that to her advantage. “What is your problem with him? The real problem! I am not leaving here until you admit it!” Demeter’s expression turned sour.

“The age difference-” she started, but Hera interrupted.

“Nope, we’re immortal, you know it doesn’t matter” she said. 

“He’s a horrible-”

“Nope.”

“Perverted-”

“Don’t think so.”

“Morally corrupt-”

“Try again.”

“Will you quit interrupting me?!” growled Demeter.

“Not until you’re honest” said Hera. Demeter looked as if she was about to explode with rage, but she wasn’t speaking. Hera sighed. “Just admit it Demeter! He reminds you of his father!”

“He doesn’t remind me of his father!” screamed Demeter, getting out of the chair. “He reminds me of your fucking husband! He reminds me of Zeus!” Silence followed Demeter’s confession. On Demeter’s part it was an icy silence as she watched Hera for her reaction. A sad realization dawned on Hera’s face. 

“Hades isn’t Zeus” said Hera quietly, tenderly. “Hades didn’t hurt you Demi… I… I know Zeus hurt you-”

“I know you know” snapped Demeter. 

“You do?” asked Hera, confused. Demeter nodded.

“I realized you knew not long after it happened” said Demeter. Hera reached out to her but she yanked herself away. “You know, most people think I ran off to the mortal realm because I don’t like the way Zeus runs things. And I’m sure you thought it was because of what he did to me, and in truth none of you are wrong…” Tears started to stream down Demeter’s face as she looked back at Hera. “But a huge part of it is that I can barely stand to look at you anymore, Hera.” Hera flinched as if she had been slapped. “How can I stand to be around someone who betrayed me the way you did? Someone who was supposed to be there for me, to love me, but when it came down to it, chose _him_ over me?” The tears continued to fall hot and fast down Demeter’s face. Hera looked ashamed, her arms wrapped around herself in protection and comfort. “How could you choose him over me? After what he did!” cried Demeter. She began to sob openly now, curling in on herself. 

“Demeter…” said Hera tentatively.

“No” said Demeter, snapping back up. “No, I take it back, I don’t want to hear it. Just get out.”

“Demi, please-”

“I said get out!” screamed Demeter. Hera left the study, slamming the door behind her, causing the butterflies in the room to all fly about, disturbed from their afternoon snack. They all settled themselves back down as Demeter sank into one of the wing backs and continued to cry. All except one; a beautiful pink butterfly that instead flew out the window and towards the gardens. 

When she reached her garden, Persephone turned back into herself. She sat down on the ground amongst her flowers, covered her mouth, and tried not to cry.

***

“You’re quiet this morning little bean.”

Persephone was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the bowl of porridge her mother had fixed her. She had only about 2 bites before she gave up on eating, her stomach still so unsettled. Instead, she had just moved the spoon around the bowl to make it look like she was eating. Her head snapped up at her mother’s words. In truth, she had been so lost in thought she had almost forgotten she was there.

“Everything alright?” asked Demeter, concerned. Persephone gave her a half hearted smile. 

“I’m fine” she replied. “I just… didn’t sleep well last night.” 

“There is a chill in the breeze as of late” said Demeter, looking out the window. “Of course, it never gets too cold here, but maybe an extra blanket for your bed is needed.”

“Thank you mama” said Persephone, and then went back to staring at her porridge. The truth was she couldn’t stop thinking about what she had heard yesterday between her mother and Hera. The conversation kept spinning in her mind over and over again, words and phrasing occasionally popping out louder than others. It plagued her all through the night, making it impossible for her to sleep, and when the cold light of morning dawned, she was no closer to processing what she’d heard. She needed to talk this out with someone, and there was only one person she wanted to talk to. Someone who always seemed to have the right answers when it came to these things. “Actually, mama, there was something I wanted to ask you” said Persephone, plucking up her courage.

“Anything Kore-Cob” said Demeter, sipping her morning tea.

“Can I have a friend over?” she asked.

“Sure” said Demeter, without hesitation. “Who were you thinking? Artemis? Athena?”

“Eros.”

At that, Demeter froze. A dark expression crossed her face just for a second, and Persephone knew why. Eros was a living embodiment of ‘The Lost Time’. Persephone knew this would happen, but she was prepared to stand her ground on this. Demeter regained her composer, a warm smile falling back on her lips.

“Now, Persephone-” she started, but Persephone cut her off.

“I know what you’re going to say mama, but hear me out” she said quickly. She didn’t give her mother time to respond before she continued. “Eros became one of my best friends, and he was one of the people that was there for me and really helped me through-”

“Stop” said Demeter, closing her eyes, and holding up a hand. Persephone knew she just didn’t want her to mention the incident. Persephone gritted her teeth, but decided to change tactics.

“And besides, have I not been good lately?” she said. “I have done every task, every chore, either on or ahead of schedule, going above and beyond every single time.”

“This is true” said Demeter, her expression starting to soften.

“And there hasn’t been any challenges in almost two months, that has to count for something” said Persephone. “Challenges” is what they had been calling arguments lately. Demeter considered a moment while Persephone held her breath. Then she smiled, and Persephone started to get hopeful.

“Alright, fine” she said, and Persephone squealed with glee. “Why don’t you go write to him and see if he can come for a few hours tomorrow?” 

Persephone was already running to her bedroom. She crafted the letter as quickly as she could, her handwriting certainly suffering because of it. Hermes was there within the hour to pick it up, and was back that evening with his reply. By 11am the next morning, her rose coloured boy was touching down on the estate, Persephone waiting for him outside.

“Petal Power!” he yelled in delight as soon as he saw her. Persephone ran at him, launching herself into the air as she did.

“Eros!” she sang as she threw herself into his open arms even before he reached the ground.

“I missed you so much” he said, holding her tight.

“I missed you too” she replied. She pulled back from him but still did let him go. “I have so much to tell you.”

“Yeah, your letter mentioned something about some crazy information?” he said, curiosity burning in his eyes.

“Yes, I will totally fill you in” she said. She took his hand and began to lead him towards the house. “But first, tea, catch up, and-”

“Selfies!” he said, pulling his phone out of his tunic.

“Eros! You can’t have tech here, my mom will flip” said Persephone, looking around to make sure no one could see.

“Relax, Petal Power” said Eros. Persephone sighed as Eros pulled her close again, holding out his phone as they posed for a picture. “Smile!”

***

It was 11 o’clock in the morning, and Hades was in a strip club. It was the last place he wanted to be at 11 o’clock in the morning. He would much rather be in the office, getting work done. Or perhaps at him, reading a book. But it was “Bros Day”, and it was Zeus’ turn, which meant “Brunch”... which meant strip club. 

“Would you cheer up? You’re scaring the strippers” said Poseidon. Hades had been staring at his scotch. He looked up and noticed that most of the waitresses and dancers were attempting to give him a wide berth. 

“Gloomy’s kind of my schtick” he said, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Gloomy’s one thing, depressing is another” said Zeus with a smirk. Hades scowled at him. He spied a waitress who was brave enough to pass close to him. 

“I’ll take another” he said, placing his now empty glass on her tray.

“How many is that now?” asked Zeus knowingly. Hades just rolled his eyes at him. He didn’t need to hear about his drinking from his brothers.

“Amphitrite wants a picture” said Poseidon, who was on his phone. “Here, shove over.” The three of them ended up squished together, with Hades in the middle. Poseiden took a look at his phone after he took the picture. “Gaia, Hades, at least pretend to look like you like us.”

“Look, guys, this is me right now” he snapped, starting to get frustrated with the criticism. “If you don’t like it, stop dragging me out.”

“No way, you’re not getting out of family time that easily” said Zeus. 

“Yeah, it’s important for us to spend quality time together” said Poseidon, although the sentiment was muddled slightly by the fact that he was actively typing on his phone.

“Says the guy looking at his phone” said Zeus, on the same page as Hades.

“Um, sending the picture to Trite, obviously” said Poseidon. “Also posting it to instagram” he said much quieter. _Oh, great._

“Why does Trite want a picture of us anyway?” asked Zeus.

“She wanted a picture of her boys having fun” said Poseidon, a dopey smile on his face. “Ha!” he exclaimed, looking at his phone. “Hades, Trite says you’d be prettier if you smiled.” Hades rolled his eyes at the comment while Zeus burst into laughter.

“Alright, alright” said Zeus, calming himself. “Our tee time is 1pm so we probably only have time for one more drink-”

“Oooh” said Poseidon, looking at his phone. He looked up, embarrassed to see the other two staring at him. “Sorry” he said.

“No no, share with the class” said Zeus. A wicked smile crossed Poseidon’s face, and he didn’t know why, but Hades was slightly afraid.

“Eros’ latest post on instagram” said Poseidon, and then he began to read. “‘I feel so #blessed to be able to spend today with my Petal Power-’”

“Wait, is he talking about-?” started Zeus.

“Shut up” growled Hades, eager for Poseidon to keep reading.

“‘It’s been so long since we saw each other and I can’t believe how much I missed her…” Poseidon paused in his reading. “Then he put a bunch of hashtags.... Wow, he uses a lot of hashtags, and that’s coming from me.”

“Show us the pics” said Zeus, and Poseidon leaned in closer to him so he could see his phone. Hades stayed where he was though. As much as he was dying to see her, there was a part of him that stopped himself. 

“Cute… cute… super cute… oh this one has the dog ears filter!” said Poseidon as he scrolled through what Hades was assuming were a bunch of selfies of her and Eros together. “Hades, get over here, what are you doing?” Hades’ stomach churned as he was forced to come to a conclusion to his internal debate.

“No” he said, and both Poseidon and Zeus looked surprised. “It’s just going to end up making me feel worse” he admitted, and then put his head down on the table.

“Oh buddy, it’s okay” said Poseidon, his voice comforting. “Can we get another scotch over here?” he called to a waitress.

“No, don’t bring that drink” called Zeus, his voice suddenly sounding annoyed. Hades looked up at him.

“Are you cutting me off?” he asked.

“You’re damn right I am” said Zeus. Zeus was standing now, a hard expression on his face and there was lightning beginning to spark in his hair. “This whole sad sap routine, it ends today. I’m fucking tired of it. I’m giving you an ultimatum, you’ve either got to nut up or shut up!”

“Excuse me?” said Hades, offended. Zeus did like to tell people what to do, but this was going too far.

“You heard me, nut up or shut up” reaffirmed Zeus. “You can either nut up, and actually fucking do something to go get this girl, that you are clearly still in love with, consequences be damned! Or, you can shut up, and move the fuck on! Because all of this…” he vaguely motioned towards Hades’ entirety, “is not just seriously fucking unhealthy for you, it’s also not very befitting of a king!”

“That’s a little harsh dude” said Poseidon.

“Yeah, well, tough love” said Zeus bitterly as he sat back down. He downed the last of his appletini. Hades was feeling awful. He wanted to defend himself against Zeus’ call out, but the problem was, he was right.

“Listen, buddy, while I don’t support his tone, I do kind of agree with the sentiment” said Poseidon, putting a hand on his back in an effort to comfort him. “We’re all really concerned, you haven’t been this bad in a long time.”

“Yeah, I know” said Hades quietly, not even wanting to look up at them. Hades had no idea what else to say to them. Everything they said was true, but since Persephone left he felt so powerless to do anything about it. Going after her would certainly incur the wrath of Demeter and may end up ruining her life, but not going after her was ruining his. He thought he could swallow his pain, he had been doing it for so many years now already, but he hated that it hadn’t gone unnoticed. After a few moments of silence, Zeus finally spoke.

“You know what? After we’re done with golf, we’re going to a mortal party” he announced.

“I don’t want to do that” said Hades quietly. The last thing he wanted right now was to go to a party.

“Well too bad, it’s my day” said Zeus. “We did what you wanted last time, which was sitting in your living room in silence and drink scotch.”

“I didn’t mind it” said Poseidon. “I got to write a poem for Amphitrite, which she loved by the way, thanks for asking.” Zeus turned all of his intensity to Hades.

“You are going to have a drink, you are going to dance with a stranger, and you are going to have fun!” he decreed. “Because I said so!” A crack of lighting erupted from him, nearly hitting one of the stripper polls. A few seconds later the manager was at their table.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty’s-”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re leaving!”

***

“Sweet Gaia, you weren’t kidding!”

Eros was sitting on Persephone’s bed, and Persephone was pacing in her bedroom after having just told him the entire conversation she had overheard between her mother and Hera. Saying it out loud to someone else had made it so much more real, and she couldn’t sit still.

“I know, right?” she said. “I mean, Hades and Hera had an affair? Hades can’t have kids? Did Zeus rape my mom?!”

“It kind of sounds like Zeus may have raped your mom” said Eros.

“Oh my Gods, what am I supposed to do with that?!” she said, slightly panicked. Eros got up off the bed and put his hands on her shoulders.

“Deep breaths” he said, and Peresphone complied, taking some deep calming breaths. “Come, sit down” he said as he led her to her bed. “I’m going to say something that’s going to sound a little weird… but the whole Zeus and Demeter thing kind of makes some things make a lot of sense.”

“How do you mean?” asked Persephone.

“Well, think about it” said Eros. “Demeter’s a fertility goddess, everyone knows that. What if, for some reason, she blames her fertility powers as to why Zeus did that to her.” The dots were starting to connect in her mind.

“So when I started to develop my fertility powers…” started Persephone.

“She obviously would want to hide them from you” finished Eros. “She would want to protect you from the same fate!” 

“Well that backfired big time” said Persephone, getting up off the bed. 

“I didn’t say it was smart, I said it made sense” said Eros. “The guilt of that would probably explain why she’s been in denial about what happened to you.”

“That’s true” said Persephone. She resumed her pacing. It was helping her think. “It would also explain why she wanted to keep me away from Olympus, and wanted so badly for me to join TGOEM, so I would be protected…” Persephone went back to the bed and flopped down. “So… does this I’m supposed to forgive her now?” she asked. 

“No” said Eros quickly. “Explanations are not excuses, and while it’s clear that she’s been through some pretty traumatic things, it’s not fair of her to project her unresolved issues on you.” Hearing Eros say that made her feel better, made her feel like all the things she had been feeling towards her mom were valid. Eros flopped himself down so he was lying next to her. “So… Hera and Hades?”

“Hera and Hades!” repeated Persephone, sitting back up. “Did you know?” she asked.

“No!” said Eros, also sitting up. “I can’t believe I didn’t see that coming! But let me tell you, I did NOT see that coming!”

“I mean obviously he’s had like, multiple lifetimes worth of lovers before he met me, so that’s not what bugs me” she said.

“But it does bug you?” asked Eros, knowingly. 

“I guess I just never thought of him as that kind of guy” she said as she flopped on the bed again. “I mean, he never seemed like that to me… but I guess there’s a reason everybody thinks he’s a scoundrel like his brothers.”

“He did date Minthe, and she’s the living embodiment of a dumpster fire” said Eros.

“Ugh, don’t remind me” replied Persephone grabbing one of her pillows and putting it over her head.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about it” said Eros, and Persephone slid the pillow down so her eyes were free to look at him. “It seems like it was a long time ago, and people change. And from what Hera said about, he’s obviously not that guy anymore.” Persephone smiled warmly at Eros’ words. But then the smile fell.

“I don’t even know why I care!” she said, throwing the pillow away. “I mean, we’re not even together!”

“Bullshit!” said Eros, and Persephone sat up.

“Excuse me?” she said.

“You heard me. Bull. shit” he said, a smirk on his face. “I know yall aint physically together anymore, but relationships exist on many plans. And let me tell you, you are 100% emotionally and spiritually still a couple. Your energies are just as intertwined as the day you left.”

“Is that why it’s been so difficult for me to move on?” she asked quietly, grabbing another pillow to hug.

“Because you’re not broken up” said Eros. Persephone groaned, and then leaned on Eros who put an arm around her. “I know it’s hard, but that’s love. It’s difficult and rewarding, it’s devastating and uplifting, it’s the worst pain you’ll ever experience in exchange for the purest joy that can exist.” Tears started to stream down Persephone’s face as she remembered the last letter she wrote. Eros noticed she was crying, and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her tight to him. He didn’t say anything, just let her cry for a bit. After a while she pulled back, a watery smile on her face.

“Thank you Eros” she said. “You really are the best.”

“I know” he said with a cocky smile, which made her laugh. “I do have some thoughts on the whole not being able to have kids things.” Persephone nodded, wanting to hear. “First off, hate to say it, but I’m not surprised.” Persephone pulled totally out of his hug, her eyes wide in shock. “Rumours have been going around for years, but that’s not my point.” Persephone leaned in, cusious. “You once told me you made a forest grow in Tartarus, right?” Persephone nodded. “You’re a fertility goddess, who made life where nothing is supposed to grow…”

“Oh” said Persephone, realizing what Eros was getting at.

“I’m not making any promises” he said, raising his hands defensively. “I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Persephone leaned back into him, a smile on her face as she regained hope she didn’t know she had lost.

“Honestly, I’m mostly just sad he didn’t get that chance to tell me himself” she said. “I mean, I’m sure overhearing it from my mother was not exactly how he wanted me to find out.”

“You’re such a good person, Petal Power” said Eros, putting his arm back around her. “Never change.” Eros pulled out his phone, prompted Persephone to give him a look. “What? I want to check how many likes our selfie got.” He scrolled for a bit. “Oh my Gods, look at this!” He should Persephone his phone, which had a post by Poseidon of him, Zeus, and Hades squished together for a selfie. Zeus and Poseidon both had big smiles on their faces, but Hades looked less than impressed to be there, unfortunately the expression just made him look like a big dork.

“Aww” said Persephone, grabbing the phone from Eros. Seeing Hades made her heart fill with joy. “At least he’s out having fun with his brothers” she said, remembering what Athena had said a few weeks ago.

“Out, yes, but it does not look like he’s having fun” said Eros. Persephone nodded in agreement.

“Oh well, baby steps.”

***

Eros left just before dinner, Persephone waving goodbye to him as he took off from the garden. She was overwhelmed with joy at being able to see her friend again, and felt so much lighter after their talk. Although the insight he had given her about the current state of her relationship was still bittersweet. She thought it would be healthier for them in the long run if they could move on, knowing this now just made it seem harder.

Demeter was quiet during dinner, probably a reaction to Eros’ visit. Persephone didn’t care though, nothing could upset her mood. She smiled all throughout dinner. She hoped her mother would see how happy she was, and hoped maybe this would prompt her to give her a few more freedoms. From her icy silence, Persephone didn’t think that was about to happen anytime soon.

After dinner, Persephone decided to take a nighttime walk. Soon, it would be too cold to do this, so she wanted to take advantage of it while she could. She took two flower nymphs with her, Chloe and Lyra. Chloe was one of the younger ones, and had a wide eyed curiosity that Persephone loved. Lyra was one of the more adventurous nymphs, and often allowed Persephone to bend the rules slightly. This is why she often took the two of them with her when her mother insisted she needed accompaniment.

As they walked, the three of them noticed some commotion coming from the mortal town; light, music, and the sound of many, many voices. They ventured closer, doing their best to stay hidden among the tall grass that surrounded the town. Crouched down, they realized the cause of the commotion; the largest house in town was having a party.

“What do you think they’re celebrating?” asked Chloe as they watched.

“The mortals have a party this time every year” Lyra informed her. “You see, today marks the first day of autumn, and all around the world, the wind will start to blow frigid, and the crops will die, and then animals will leave.” The bright lights of the party seemed to draw Persephone in. “But not here. Here, we are protected by Lady Demeter, who keeps the crops healthy all year long.” Persephone could smell honey and wine and spices coming from the party, the music seemed to call to her in a way she couldn’t describe. “So, every year, they throw this harvest celebration, to honour and thank her.” 

Perhaps it was her visit with Eros, perhaps it was the rebellious urge she had been desperately trying to suppress, but she was infused with a new sense of confidence. Persephone stood up out of their hiding place, and as she did, she felt herself begin to change. Her skin went from pink to golden olive, her hair became dark brown, and her eyes transformed from magenta to hazel. 

“Lady Persephone, what are you doing?” hissed Chloe, slightly panicked.

“I’m going to that party” she said. _Wow, even my voice sounds different._

“But what if Lady Demeter finds out?” asked Lyra.

“You know what? Let her.”


	20. Chapter 20

The atmosphere of the party was absolutely intoxicating. The great hall was fairly open to the outside, which meant the cool evening breeze could be felt blowing it’s way through, but great fires kept the place from getting too cold, and cast the entire hall in a warm glow. There was an entire table laden with the wondrous delights of the harvest, mortals milling about it, sampling treat after treat. There were small tables all around for people to sit, but also a large open space in the middle of the hall set aside for dancing. A band was set up somewhere, playing jovial music that, along with the wine that was being so liberally passed around, was putting everyone in a good mood. Many of the guests of the party were dressed in fine clothes, it almost made Persephone feel underdressed, but she noticed there were also many dressed plainly. It seemed the entire town was invited, and everyone was welcome. This was a celebration not for the wealthy, but for the people, and Persephone loved it.

She was still slightly cautious at first, walking in slowly, but still full of wonder and curiosity. She took in the scene, her breath taken away by the joyousness of the gathering. She wondered around, fascinated by everything she saw. At some point she ended up with a cup of wine in her hand. Normally she didn’t care too much for wine, but this was sweet and heady, tasting of honey and figs. She could have easily drank the entire cup in one sip, but reminded herself it was probably better to keep her wits about her. 

Eventually she made it over to the table with the food. The table was probably twelve feet long and so full of incredible dishes it was a wonder the table could support the weight. There was everything one could imagine there, fresh fruits, cheeses, cured meats, savory pies, fresh baked breads, and what Persephone was headed for, desserts. She sampled a piece of baklava that looked and felt as if it had been soaking in honey for two days. It was absolutely delicious, but not quite as good as hers.

She turned to watch the rest of the party as she ate, particularly fascinated by the twirling dancers. She wanted to dance, but she had no one to dance with. _Well, I’ll just need to find someone then!_ She looked around at the other mortals, all mingling and chatting with each other. She was sure she could find someone to dance with, that’s what party’s like this were for. She was about to make for a group of young mortals to introduce herself when she was stopped by a low voice, gravely voice in her ear.

“Hey there.”

***

“Where is Zeus?” asked Hades, scanning the hall for his brother. Him and Poseidon were standing near the edge of the dancing floor, around where some of the table had been set up, among many other groups of mingling mortals. “How did we lose him already?”

“He’s probably already on the prowl” said Poseidon, nonchalantly. He stopped a passing serving girl and grabbed two cups of wine from her tray, thanked her, and then handed one to Hades.

“Isn’t he still with that Semele girl?’ asked Hades. He took a sip of his wine. It was much too sweet for his taste, but he would drink it anyway.

“Yes, but he tends to like to keep two to three on the go” said Poseidon. Hades rolled his eyes, he would never understand his brothers’ fascination with mortal women. “Just as I thought” said Poseidon, and Hades looked to where he was motioning. Zeus was talking to a young mortal woman by the food table. “Sweet Gaia, she is stunning.”

Hades had to agree with his brother. She looked to be no older than 20, much shorter than Zeus, and quite curvy. The chiton she was wearing was rather plain, but perhaps that was an intentional choice, as not to detract from her natural beauty. It was cut rather low, such that it showed off her substantial cleavage, and hugged her small waist and curvy hips until it flowed down to the floor. She had long, dark brown hair, that was styled in a set of intericit braids down her back. Her hair was also adorned with flowers, tucked into the folds of her braids, and sitting like a crown on the top of her head. They were fairly far away, but even from here Hades could see her large doe-like eyes, her cute button nose, her full lips, and one of the most beautiful smiles he had seen in a long time.

“She’s kind of cute, I guess” said Hades, taking another sip of his wine.

“Kind of cute, you guess?” repeated Poseidon in clear disbelief of his understatement. “Sometimes I don’t get you at all.” Hades rolled his eyes.

“Well she’s talking to Zeus now so it’s not like it matters” said Hades. Once Zeus had his eye on someone, that was it, they were off limits.

“Gods help her” said Poseidon, making a toast with his cup to no one in particular. Hades gave Poseidon a look.

“Poseidon, we’re the Gods!” he said.

“Yeah, but neither of us specialize in saving women from jackasses” said Poseidon defensively. 

“Well, maybe we should” said Hades, looking again at the mystery girl talking to Zeus.

“Small problem with that” said Poseidon. “We’re the jackasses.”

“Speak for yourself!” replied Hades. He took another sip of his wine and continued to keep an eye on Zeus and this mortal girl.

***

“You are absolutely gorgeous” said the man once Persephone turned around. 

“Aw, thank you” she said, blushing. The man was very handsome himself. He was quite tall, with lean, muscular build. He seemed quite a few years older than Persephone, but obviously still kept in shape. He had long, medium brown hair, handsome, chiseled features, and a rather cocky grin on his face. Yes, the man was very good looking, and Persephone had the feeling that he rather knew that.

“I’ve never seen you before” he mentioned, and Persephone figured that the people of this town must come year after year, and would notice new comers.

“It’s my first time here at the celebration” she said, and took a moment to look around again, taking in the atmosphere of the party. “It’s absolutely wonderful!”

“It’s made even more wonderful by your presence” said the man. _My, he is a flirt._ “Have you just moved here to town?”

“Oh no” replied Persephone. “I’ve lived in this area my whole life.”

“Let me guess” said the man. “Up until now your father kept you locked away for fear that men might take advantage of your beauty? And now you’re finally getting your first taste of freedom?”

“Something like that” said Persephone with a nervous giggle. The man extended a hand to her.

“Care to dance?” he asked. Persephone slowly reached out her hand to his, but then hesitated.

“I don’t even know your name” she said.

“Oh, I have many names” said the man, mischievously. “But you may call me Jove.”

“Jove” repeated Persephone. “What a curious name.”

“And yours?” he asked.

“Proserpina” replied Persephone, falling back on her favoured alias.

“A lovely name for a lovely woman” said the man. He extended his hand again.

“Now, would honour me with a dance?” he asked. Again, Persephone reached out slowly, and again she hesitated. There was just something about this man that gave her a weird feeling she couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

“Umm…” she said, trying to stall, but then something lit up in his eyes.

“Wait! I have a better idea” he said, and then hooked his arm around hers in a sudden motion that threw Persephone a little off balance. “I’m going to introduce you to my brother.”

***

“Sweet Gaia, they’re coming over here” said Hades as he saw Zeus take the girl’s arm and steer her towards where he and Poseidon were.

“Brother!” called Zeus, looking directly at Hades. Hades groaned.

“Looks like he means you” said Poseidon, a teasing edge to his voice. “See ya!” he said, and then disappeared in the crowd. Hades watched him go with pleading eyes, but Zeus and the girl were on him now.

“Brother, I would like to introduce you to the beautiful Prosperpina” said Zeus, a wide smile on his face. Hades knew what he was trying to do, but he was really not in the mood. “Proserpina, this is my brother, Plutonius.” The girl, Proserpina, smiled at him and extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you” she said warmly. Her voice sounded like a song. Hades took her hand and kissed it gently, causing her to blush.

“Nice to meet you too” he said. There was something so infectious about her smile, it was almost breaking through Hades’ mood. Almost.

“Well I’ll let you two get on with it” said Zeus. Then he left, but not before giving Hades a look that said “don’t blow this”. They stood there in silence for a moment after Zeus left, Proserpina with her hands behind her back, unintentionally jutting out her chest. 

“So…” she started to say, and Hades, realizing he had been staring at her, blushed in embarrassment. “Are you going to ask me to dance?” she asked, a hopeful tone to her voice.

“Right, yes” said Hades, still a little flustered. “Do you want to dance?”

“I would love to” she said, delighted. He offered her his hand and she took it without hesitation and let him lead her to the dance floor. As they began to dance, Hades knew he should say something, but he had no idea what to say to the girl. They were so different, more different than she could ever know. “Are you alright?” she asked eventually.

“Of course” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re so quiet” she said, a concerned expression crossing her face. “I mean, we don’t have to dance if you don’t want to…” Hades kicked himself internally.

“No, it’s not you” he said, trying to reassure her. He didn’t know why, but the last thing he wanted to do was offend her. “Dancing with you will probably be the highlight of my evening.” The words brought a smile back to her face, lifting her spirits. “I just don’t like parties very much.”

“Then why are you here? If you don’t mind me asking” she said.

“Mostly to make sure my brothers don’t get into too much trouble” he admitted. She giggled.

“You remind me of a friend of mine” she said. “He doesn’t like parties that much either. He always says he would much rather be at home with his dogs.”

“Sounds like this friend of yours and I might be kindred spirits” he said. They continued to dance, and admittedly Hades enjoyed the feeling of her hands on him. More than that though, he enjoyed watching her having fun. “So are you enjoying the party?” he asked.

“Oh yes” she replied. “I haven’t been to many parties, so perhaps the novelty has yet to wear off, but I find all of this delightful.” The song ended, and the pair broke apart. 

“It was lovely meeting you” he said to her, “but I should really go find my brothers.”

“Alright” she said, although she seemed a little disappointed. “It was wonderful meeting you too.” He bowed to her, she gave him a cute little curtsy in response, and then he found where Zeus and Poseidon had set up camp.

“What was that?” asked Zeus, exasperated, as Hades approached the table. “Get back over there!”

“Mortals just aren’t my thing” said Hades as he sat down. He grabbed one of the many cups of wine that were at the table, it seemed his brothers had stocked up, and took a long sip. “If either of you two end up revealing yourselves to mortals, they just end up more smitten. If I do it, she’d run screaming at the ‘Unseen One’. Not into that.”

“Pft, details” grumbled Zeus, taking a sip of his own wine. 

“So, I drank, I danced with a stranger, but I’m still not having fun” said Hades, reviewing Zeus’ decrees from brunch. “Can we go now?”

“You’re not going anywhere” said Zeus. “The night is still young, and so are those women over there.” Zeus got up and half stumbled over to a gaggle of mortal women who were all giggling at him. Hades shook his head, wondering how much Zeus had had to drink in his absence. Eventually Poseidon left as well, and Hades kept camp at the table. Throughout the night he still kept an eye on Proserpina, although he didn’t know why. He watched as she mingled with the other mortals, sipped her wine, danced a few more times, and more than once indulged in some of the treats on the food table. After a while though, Hades realized he couldn’t spy her any longer. He got up to take a look around the hall, and eventually found her outside. She was sitting by herself on a bench out in the garden, looking sadly up at the stars. He went over to her.

“Hi” he said. She jumped at the sound of his voice. “Sorry, I-”

“No, it’s okay” she said, giving him a half-hearted smile. 

“May I sit?” he asked, indicating to the empty spot on the bench next her. She nodded, and he sat down. They sat in silence for a little while, Hades going between looking at the stars and her melancholic expression. “So, why are you out here by yourself?” he asked eventually.

“Just tired I guess” she said, her voice low. 

“Party wore you out?” he asked. She nodded. “I get what you mean, they wear me out too.” Again, they sat in silence, and Hades got the feeling that she wasn’t just tired. “Are you sure there’s nothing else bothering you?” he asked. She looked over at him, but didn’t answer. “Not that you have to tell me if there is, I just-”

“No, no” she said, interrupting him again. “I don’t know why… but I feel very comfortable around you.” He smiled at her warmly, her declaration making him feel happy in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. Not many people felt comfortable around him. “I’ve been so very lonely lately” she confessed. “I thought coming to this party would make me feel better, but…” Tears started to stream down her face. He wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her, but he thought he better not touch her. “I just feel more alone than ever.”

“I understand” he said softly. She looked at him curiously. “I often feel most alone when I’m surrounded by others.” Why was he confessing this to a total stranger? But his words earned him a watery smile from her, and then she leaned against him, her head resting against his arm. 

“You remind me of a friend of mine” she mumbled. 

“You said that already” he murmured as he shifted his position so his arm was around her and she was resting her head against his chest. He could sell the sweet scent of the flowers in her hair, or was that her?

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Proserpina left up off the bench. Shocked, Hades lifted his hands up, fearing he had done something wrong. She was standing in front of him, staring at him with a shocked and suspicious expression on her face.

“You smell like a forest fire in winter” she said, in an oddly accusatory tone.

“Um… thank you?” said Hades, very confused. Still standing, she leaned in close to him. Her facing was inches from his and he was staring directly into her hazel eyes.

“Hades?” she whispered. Hades was even more confused than ever now. How could this mortal have found him out? And how come she didn’t seem afraid?

“How did you-?” started Hades, but then Proserpina blinked, and her eyes changed colour from hazel to deep magenta.

“Persephone?” asked Hades, hope filling him for the first time in months.

“Hades!” she squealed. Hades was unprepared for Persephone to fling herself at him, and the force of her embrace sent them both tumbling off the back of the bench, landing on his back on the ground with him on top of her. She was smiling at him adoringly, and there were tears in her eyes again, but this time they were for a different reason. He imagined he had a similar expression, in fact, he could already feel his own tears spilling over and down his face. He didn’t think he had ever felt so happy in his entire life. For the first time since she had left he felt alive again.

Looking at her face now he couldn’t believe he hadn’t recognized her. All of her features, her perfect features, were all the same, even her freckles were all exactly where they were supposed to be. He stared at her at first, drinking in the sight of her, like a man having his first drink of water after being stranded in the desert. Then he gently brought a hand to her face, flicking away the tears that were travelling down her cheeks. His touch somehow made her smile even wider, glee erupting on her face. Then her lips were on his, kissing him with a passion he swore he had forgotten. Oh how he had longed to feel her soft lips on his again, and now that she was here, he never wanted it to stop.

Voices from the party caused them to part. They both giggled, somehow acknowledging, even without words, that they had both forgotten they weren’t the only people in the universe. Persephone leaned her forehead against his and lovingly stroked his cheek, brushing some of his own tears away. He leaned into her touch, turning his head so he could lay a gentle kiss on her hand. 

“We should probably-” he murmured.

“Yeah” she said, realizing what he meant. She got off of him, Hades already missing her touch as soon as she moved, and stood up. Hades stood up too, and as soon as they were standing, Persephone wrapped her arms around him again. He hugged her tight to his chest, afraid that if he let her go, she would disappear again. She looked up at him, reaching up an arm so she could gently cradle his face in her one hand. 

“How could I not have recognized you?” he asked in disbelief at his own blindness. 

“I can’t believe it took me so long” said Persephone. “What are you even doing here?”

“Like I said, I’m here with my brothers” said Hades. Instinctively, he looked back towards the party, and he was glad he did. Zeus and Poseidon were both watching them, big smiles on their facing, waving like idiots and giving him thumbs up. Hades glared at both of them in response. When Persephone spied what he was looking at she giggled. “Maybe we should take a walk” suggested Hades, wanting to get away from prying eyes.

“Sounds perfect” said Persephone. She slipped her hand into his and the two of them began to walk away from the party, away from the town, and through the fields of grass that lay there.

“I still don’t get how you’re here” said Hades. It had been months without anything but the occasional message passed through secrecy. He was still having a hard time believing she was even here.

“Well my mother’s estate is not far from here” she said, rather casually.

“So… she knows you’re here?” he asked, unable to think of a world where Demeter would let Persephone attend a party on her own.

“Oh Gods no!” said Persephone. “No, I, um, kind of snuck out.”

“You’re not going to get in trouble, are you?” he asked. 

“Actually, I might not” she said. “I often take night time walks, and mother’s usually in bed before I get back. As long as I’m back by dawn, I can sneak in and she never needs to know. That is as long as Chloe and Lyra don’t rat me out, they’re the flower nymphs who went with me on my walk…”

They walked and talked for hours. He couldn’t get enough of the sound of her voice. She told him all about her time living with her mother, about how she was biding her time, hoping to repair their relationship and re-establish trust. She told him of her challenges, of her visitors, of her adventures. She kept saying how boring her life had been, but Hades could have listened to her talk about it forever. He told her about how he had been the last months, doing his best to glaze over the darker parts. Something about her expression made him think she wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t challenge him. He gave her detailed updates on all of the pups, wishing he had his phone so he could show her pictures. Eventually they came to the edge of Demeter’s property, where Persephone showed him her garden of rose bushes. She had grown them in such a way that when she was here it afforded her a little bit of privacy. They sat down among the roses and hazarded to turn back into themselves. Then his little pink goddess crawled into his lap, cuddling into him.

“It’s almost dawn” she said sadly. Hades looked to the eastern sky, hoping she would be mistaken, but she wasn’t. She started to sniffle.

“Hey, don’t cry” he said, knowing this would do nothing to stop her tears. “We’ll see each other again, Sweetness, it’s just a matter of time.”

“But who knows when that’s going to be!” she said. “Maybe it’s better if we just-”

“Please don’t finish that sentence” he said, afraid of where she was going. She got out of his lap and kneeled in front of him. 

“I don’t want you to hurt over me” she said. “And don’t lie and say you haven’t been hurting, I know-” She stopped talking when Hades reached out and stroked her cheek.

“I have lived over two thousand years, and I have never felt a love like this before” he said, staring into her eyes. “And yes, living without that love has been painful… but knowing you’re here, and safe, and haven’t forgotten about me-”

“I could never!” she said, making him smile. 

“I will wait for you for as long as you’re willing to wait for me” he said. “I love you Kore, with all of my heart.” She pulled herself close to him again and kissed him. Her lips tasted slightly salty from tears, but the kiss was no less sweet because of it. 

“I love you too” she whispered against his lips. He pulled her into his lap again and held her there, never wanting to let her go, but knowing he had to. He looked again towards the eastern sky, their time was running out. 

“You should probably go” he said, his heart sinking with every word. She peeked towards the sky. 

“Yeah, I guess I should” she said. They both got up slowly, not wanting to let each other go. Eventually they were both standing among the rose bushes, holding hands, and staring at each other with heartbreak in their eyes. Then, Persephone’s expression changed, a light appearing in her eyes. “Wait, before you go, I want to show you something.” Before Hades could say anything, she disappeared in a fizz of pink light. After a few seconds, she was back, and wearing the fur coat he had given her. “Look, Hestia gave it back!” she said, excitedly. “I’ve barely taken it off since!”

Hades stared at her, watching her smiling in that coat. His heart was so full of love, he couldn’t believe there could be anyone who could make him feel the way she did. She was his everything, and suddenly the thought of living another second without her was impossible. The sun was beginning to peek over the eastern horizon. _No!_ he thought. _I’m not ready for her to go!_ Zeus’ words from the morning rang in his ears, and Hades made a split second decision. He grabbed Persephone by the waist, pulling her close to him.

“Hold me tight” he whispered in her ear, and she wrapped her arms around him. He stepped into the void, pulling her with him. When the two of them touched back into reality, they were in the Underworld, standing in Hades’ living room.

“Hades!” said Persephone once she realized where they were. Her tone was shocked but her expression was delighted.

“Oh Gods!” said Hades as the rest of his brain caught up with his impulses. Had he just kidnapped the Goddess of Spring? 

“Did you just-?” she began excitedly.

“Yes, yes I did” he said as the realization of what he had done began crashing down on him. There was no way this would go unnoticed, it was only a matter of time before it blew up. “No, this is ridiculous, I have to take you back!” Persephone wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped, Hades catching her on instinct. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him deeply, banishing his inhibitions. 

“The only place you are taking me” she said seductively when she broke the kiss, “is the bedroom.” Hades' brain raced, the inevitable consequences of his actions seeming small in comparison to the woman currently teasing the back of his neck with her fingernails.

“Oh, I’m a bad, bad man” he moaned, and then kissed the delighted goddess in his arms. 

Everyone else be damned, his whole world was right here.


	21. Chapter 21

It was an icy morning at the royal breakfast table. Hera hadn’t spoken a single word to Zeus all morning. This was not uncommon when Zeus stayed out most of the night in the mortal realm, but this morning was different. Zeus had a feeling this wasn’t just because of his own escapades last night, but in part about what he had said about setting Hades up with a mortal girl. Hera was still holding on to the delusion that things were going to magically work out between Persephone and Hades, Gods forbid she had to edit that stupid book of hers. While it was a nice thought, Zeus was of the opinion that she needed to be brought back to reality.

“So, are you talking to me yet?” he asked once the kids had left the table. Hera gave him an icy glare but said nothing. “Oh come on, I don’t even get why you’re mad” said Zeus dismissively, hoping to bait her into tell him exactly why she was mad. It didn’t work. Hera ignored him, taking a sip of her morning gin and tonic. “He probably didn’t even do anything with her, Bunny, knowing him he walked her home like a gentleman and then used it as an excuse to ditch us.” Still nothing. Zeus sighed, giving up for now. She would come around, she always did.

Zeus’ phone, which was sitting next to him on the kitchen table, started to buzz. It was Thetis, calling from the office.

“Don’t answer it” said Hera. Zeus smiled, it was the first thing she had said all morning.

“I have to answer it” he replied, enjoying how this was getting a rise out of her.

“Don’t” she growled, and Zeus looked her right in the eye as he answered the phone.

“Ahoy-hoy” he said.

“G-good morning Your Majesty” replied Thetis. She sounded nervous, which was very unlike her.

“What’s going on, Thetis?” he asked. The sound of her name made Hera twitch, bringing a smile to Zeus’ face.

“There’s a situation in the Mortal Realm” she said. “I think you should come in.”

“Well what’s going on? Did you check the feeds?” he asked, not wanting to get involved if he didn’t absolutely have to.

“Yes, and I think-” she started, but he cut her off.

“Look, I’m not coming in unless I know-”

“It’s Demeter” Thetis finally confessed. “She’s killed, well, a lot of mortals, and-”

“Say no more” said Zeus. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._

“Should I send someone to go deal with her?” asked Thetis.

“No, no, I’ll go myself” he said, and then hung up. He turned to Hera. “What the fuck did you say to Demeter the other day?” Hera gave him a shocked and slightly offended look.

“Why?” she asked defiantly.

“Because apparently she’s on a killing spree and I can only imagine it has something to do with your visit” spat Zeus. Hera looked worried for a moment, but that quickly disappeared. She turned her nose up at him.

“I’m sure I have no idea” she said coolly, and then got up from the table.

“We’ll talk more about this when I get back” Zeus called to her as she walked away. Zeus sighed as he fizzed out of existence, stepping into the void, focusing on Demeter. When his feet found reality again, he opened his eyes to a horrid sight.

He was back in the same place he had been last night, the great hall that the party had been. But there was no music, there was no food, no fires, and while there were certainly people, they were all dead. Zeus looked around at the bodies. He recognized most of them vaguely as being guests of the party last night. The bodies were bloody, mutilated, some had vines wrapped around then, and they all had terrified expressions on their faces. They died in fear, and he couldn’t blame them, as he spied their attacker standing in the center of the hall. Demeter was shaking, mortal blood all over her hands, and tears streaming down her face. Zeus took a step towards her. Her head snapped up, and Zeus could see her eyes with red with rage.

“Back off Zeus!” she screamed at him. “I don’t want to hear it!” Zeus raised his hands defensively. He needed to be gentle here.

“Hey, it’s okay” he said softly. He started walking towards, but very slowly. “I just want to know what happened.” She looked away from him, but the red had drained from her eyes at least. “Please, Demi, tell me what’s wrong.” He was right in front of her now. Her lip was quivering, the tears he had walked in on threatening to break free again. “I want to help, but I can’t unless you talk to me.” He slowly reached out an arm and placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t react, but she also didn’t shy away from his touch. She looked him in the eye.

“Oh Zeus” she said quietly. “She’s gone!” And then she started sobbing again. Zeus pulled her closer, and to his surprise, she let him, sobbing into his chest.

“Who’s gone?” he asked gently.

“P-P-Persephone!” she sobbed. Zeus was shocked. As far as he knew, Demeter was keeping an extra tight leash on her ever since the Apollo incident. 

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes!” cried Demeter. “She didn’t come home last night from her walk, and the nymphs said she came to this party! And now she’s gone!”

“This party?” asked Zeus, confused. “No, Demi, that’s impossible.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. She stopped crying and pulled away from him, as if just realizing she had allowed him to touch her.

“I mean I was at this party last night with my brothers, and Persephone wasn’t here” said Zeus. 

“Are you sure?” asked Demeter, frantically. “You said your brothers, do you think Hades had anything to do with this?”

“Like I said, she wasn’t here-” started Zeus, but then he started to think. The mortal girl, Proserpina, who he had never seen before, who he had introduced to Hades because of who she reminded him of, who Hades was hugging in the garden, who disappeared with him… of course she reminded him of Persephone, she _was_ Persephone. And now she was missing, and the last time he had seen her, she had been with Hades. But he wouldn’t let Demeter know that. “Hades was with me all night” he lied smoothly. “He couldn’t have had anything to do with it.”

“You’re sure?” asked Demeter, her lip starting to quiver again.

“I’m positive” replied Zeus, and tears started to fall down Demeter’s cheeks again. “We’ll find her Demeter, I promise.” Demeter nodded slowly. “Maybe she ran away” offered Zeus.

“Maybe…” said Demeter, although she wasn’t really paying attention to him anymore. She was looking around the room at the dead bodies. “Well now I’m just embarrassed” she said.

“Don’t worry about it” said Zeus, with a comforting smile. “We’ll just blame it on Telphousia.” Demeter blushed, then turned to look out to the garden.

“I have to go” she said. “I need to look for her.”

“Take all the time you need” said Zeus. “In the meantime, I will search Olympus for her.” Demeter turned back to him and smiled appreciatively.

“Thank you Zeus” she said, and then walked out of the hall, out into the world. Zeus watched as she left, his mind still spinning. It looked like he would need to pay a visit to his brother.

***

It was just about 7am when Hades and Persephone had arrived at Hades’ house. Hades was glad he had had thought to text Hecate and let her know that he wasn’t coming into work that day before he tossed his phone away to be forgotten for the rest of the morning. Persephone had been intense, almost ferocious in her need for him, which was echoed in Hades own need for her. It was a frantic race to undress each other, as if they couldn’t get close enough fast enough. He had to remind himself that she was still new at this, he didn’t want to push her too far, he didn’t want to be reckless. It was soon clear, however, that she shared none of his fears in this, her desire overwhelming him. He lost himself in her, knowing nothing but need, desire, pleasure, and _her_. Her fingernails digging into his back lit his skin on fire. Her moans and cries of pleasure were like the most beautiful symphony. His head was filled with her scent, and there was no sweeter scent in the world. He was high on her, and he never wanted to come down.

But they had been out all night, and once their ecstasy had reached its climax, their bodies began to remind them of that fact. They wanted to keep going, but Persephone, especially, was losing the battle. She was asleep within seconds of closing her eyes, and Hades was not far behind her. They still didn’t let each other go, however, sleeping in each other’s arms.

Hades only got a few hours of sleep, which was not unusual for him. It was nearly 11am when he woke, and Persephone was still fast asleep. He did his best not to wake her as he slipped out of bed, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead before he left. He threw on a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, and closed his bedroom door as quietly as he could

He made his way downstairs, apologizing to the whining dogs as he let them out in the backyard. He went to the kitchen and prepared their, unforgivably late, breakfasts. He let them in, and they all ran to their bowls as fast as they could, gobbling down their food. As they ate, Hades started to make himself coffee. Last night had been so incredible, but now reality was settling back in. He had to think, and he couldn’t think without coffee. 

The sound of footsteps drew his attention to the stairs. Persephone was coming down, dressed in nothing but one of his Underworld Corp hoodies, her hair a total mess, and a sleepy smile on her face. She looked divine.

“I figured you’d be out for a while” he said as she walked over to the kitchen. 

“I can’t sleep all day, I’ll completely throw off my sleep schedule” she said. She floated up as she reached him, giving him a kiss, and then settling herself in her old spot on the counter. 

“Coffee?” he asked, a dopey grin now plastered on his face.

“If you’re making it, always” she replied, which only served to widen his smile. He got to work on making the espresso. Then he steamed the milk, and when he poured it into her cup, he made a heart in the foam. She smiled so sweetly when he handed it to her, she beckoned him closer so she could give him another kiss. He smiled, so incredibly in awe of her effortless beauty. He grabbed his own coffee, walked around the counter and sat down on one of the stools that were on that side. Persephone spun herself around, sitting cross-legged on the counter facing him. He let them both at least have the first sip of their coffee before he broached the topic he was dreading, but knew they had to talk about.

“We need to talk” he said.

“Please don’t make me go back” she said before he could say anything else. The fear in her voice nearly broke his heart.

“I would never dream of making you do anything” he said tenderly, reaching his hand across the counter to take hers. “But we can’t ignore the potential ramifications of me kidnapping you.”

“Kidnapping me?” she said in disbelief, pulling her hand away. “You didn’t kidnap me.”

“Then what would you call me suddenly, and without warning, stealing you away from your home?” he asked. She considered for a moment.

“Rescuing?” she offered.

“Nice try” he replied. 

“Once I figured out what was happening I was totally on board” she said defensively. “And besides, even if you did kidnap me, that would mean my mom kidnapped me first, so this kidnapping would cancel out the first kidnapping making everything okay again, right?” Hades paused a moment as he tried to wrap his head around her sentence.

“I don’t think that’s how it works” he said. The sound of a door slamming had both of their heads snapping to the front door. Hecate was standing there, and Hades recognized her expression instantly. The thin lips, the taught jaw, the slight twitching in her right eye, he was in trouble. _Fucking great, this the last thing we need._

“What is going on here?” she hissed at them. The angrier she was, the quieter she would get, and she was livid right now.

“Apparently Hades kidnapped me and is holding me against my will” said Persephone. Hades could have throttled her. Hecate’s right eye gave a particularly violent twitch.

“Really?” he said to Persephone, who just gave him a cheeky smile in return.

“Please tell me she’s kidding” said Hecate quietly.

“Of course she is” said Hades, heading over to Hecate. “About the second part” he admitted, and then ducked out of the way of Hecate’s strike.

“What the fuck, Hades?” screamed Hecate.

“Hecate, please calm down!” said Persephone flying over to the enraged Goddess as Hades recovered from his dodge. “I was kidding, I promise, don’t be mad at him.” To her credit, Hecate took a deep breath, calming herself down a little. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and spoke slowly and steadily. “Persephone, I need to have a word with my king. Alone.” Persephone looked over at Hades, her expression concerned. She clearly didn’t want to leave him, but Hades knew he needed to have this talk with Hecate, and Persephone probably shouldn’t be here for it.

“It’s okay, Sweetness” he said, trying to reassure her. “Why don’t you head back upstairs?” She nodded at him, and while Hades could tell she wasn’t totally convinced, she did as he asked, disappearing up the stairs. “Coffee?” he offered to Hecate when Persephone was gone.

“Please” she said curtly. Hades went back to the kitchen and began preparing Hecate’s cup as she took a seat on one of the stools at the counter. “So this is why you haven’t been answering your phone” she said.

“I told you I was taking the day” Hades responded.

“Oh I know” said Hecate. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all morning. There are an unprecedented number of souls on the beach right now-” Hecate was cut off by Hades dropping the mug in his hand, the ceramic shattering on the tile floor.

“Why?” he asked, fearing the worst.

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling it has something to do with your current house guest” replied Hecate. Hades had no idea how, but she had to be right. He grabbed another mug out of the cupboard and poured Hecate’s coffee. “What the fuck happened?” she asked as Hades handed her her coffee.

“Zeus dragged me to a mortal realm party last night, and Persephone happened to be there” said Hades. “She had snuck out to the party, Demeter didn’t know she was there. We spent the whole night together, but when it was time for her to leave… I don’t know, I just couldn’t let her go!”

“So you went temporarily insane?” she asked, semi-sarcastically. “Because that’s the only explanation I can think of why you would kidnap her!”

“I wanted to bring her back right away, but she didn’t want to go!” said Hades, defensively. “I’m not going to apologize for this, this is the first time I’ve felt something in months!” He hated how true that confession actually was.

“And as your friend, I’m so happy for you” said Hecate, as tenderly as he was sure she could manage. “More than happy, I’m elated. But as your royal advisor, Your Majesty, do you have any idea how much this fucks us?” He didn’t get a chance to answer her. A blast of purple light fizzed to light in his living room, and then Zeus appeared. _As if things weren’t bad enough._

“Good morning” said Zeus, his tone strained. Hades swallowed hard, knowing this couldn’t be good. He knew that expression on Zeus, there was anger lying just under the surface, and Hades had no doubt he was about to be on the receiving end of it.

“Should I go?” asked Hecate, already starting to stand.

“Sit” said Zeus, and Hecate sat back down. “I’m very sure we’re here for the same reason.”

“Unexpected number of dead people?” asked Hecate.

“Yup” said Zeus. _This just keeps getting worse and worse._ “I just got from the mortal realm. Turns out, Persephone was at the same party as us last night, can you believe it?” Hades didn’t answer. He didn’t care for Zeus’ games. “Well, according to Demeter, little Persephone never came home last night, and her mother is so very worried. So worried in fact, that she murdered everyone who was at the party last night.” Hades hung his head. This is exactly what he would afraid would happen. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about Persephone going missing would you?” continued Zeus. “And I would think very carefully before you lie to me.”

“She’s here” said Hades, not even bothering. “I brought her here.”

“Well, thank you for your honesty” said Zeus, unusually calm. Hades knew it wouldn’t last. “Now, WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!” Anger flared up in Hades.

“You were the one who told me to nut up or shut up, consequence be damned!” Hades shouted back. Zeus looked almost taken aback. He wasn’t used to people fighting back when he got like this.

“First off, since when do you listen to me?” he said. “And secondly, maybe you should have thought of some consequences!” Hades scoffed.

“Specifically the ones that involve you?” asked Hecate, saying exactly what Hades was thinking. As mad as Hecate was at Hades, she was not the biggest fan of Zeus, and would never want to take his side.

“See? Hecate gets it” said Zeus as Hecate rolled her eyes. Zeus turned back to Hades. “I covered for you with Demeter, by the way. I told her we didn’t see Persephone, I told her you were with me all night, I told her there was no way you could be involved. I lied for you!”

“Oh, wow, and how many times has he lied for you?” said Hecate.

“You stay out this Hecate!” yelled Zeus, and then again turned to Hades. “This is what you’re going to do-” started Zeus, but he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of green light and the smell of salt water.

“Hades, my man!” said Poseidon, appearing in Hades’ kitchen. “Way to step it up in the romance department” he said, throwing his arm around Hades, clearly oblivious to anything that was going on. He looked around at the others. “Oh man, did we all have the same idea?”

“No, dude, read the room!” yelled Zeus.

“Persephone was at the party last night and Hades kidnapped her” said Hecate as casually as if she was giving Poseidon the score of last night’s football game.

“Holy fuck!” yelled Poseidon, looking both excited and impressed. “Pound it!” he said, offering Hades a fist. 

“Don’t give him props, this is not a good thing!” yelled Zeus. 

“But didn’t you say yesterday-”

“I know what I fucking said!” shouted Zeus. As shitty has Hades felt right now, it was kind of funny watching Zeus lose it like this. Hades regretted the thought as Zeus turned back to him. “An extremely wrathful Demeter is out there right now looking for Persephone, and I have no control about what kind of havoc she is going to wreak along the way. So here’s what’s going to happen: You’re going to return Persephone back to the mortal realm, we’re going to go find Demeter, you are going to apologize-”

“And then what?” interrupted Poseidon. “You’re all going to sit down like mature adults and talk this out? Like that will work.” 

“Shut up Poseidon!” yelled Zeus. 

“What are you even still doing here?” asked Hecate.

“I like to be included” replied Poseidon.

“Everyone, shut up!” yelled Hades loudly enough that it shocked everyone into silence. While they had all been fighting, it seems they had forgotten that Hades hadn’t spoken in a while. However now he had reached his breaking point. “I am not returning Persephone to the mortal realm? Because she’s not a dress to be returned to the store!” he yelled, answering his own question before the others had a chance to respond. “She’s a living, breathing woman, and a Goddess in case you’ve all forgotten! This little chat about you all making decisions for her without her even being in the fucking room? It ends now! The only person who I will discuss what I’m doing with Persephone with, in fact the only person who’s opinion fucking matters here, is Persephone. Am I making myself clear?!” He paused, but none of them said anything. He took their silence as understanding. “Good! Now get the fuck out of my house! All of you! Now!” Flashes of purple, green, and blue light filled the room, and then Hades was alone. 

He placed his hands on the kitchen counter, leaning forward, breathing heavily. The rage that had been coursing through him was starting to dissipate. He knew this wasn’t going to make everything okay, hell, he may have just made things worse, but he couldn’t stand the way they were talking about her anymore.

He felt arms wrap around him from behind, and any residual rage he had been feeling flew away. Persephone leaned her head against his back and laid a gentle kiss there.

“How much did you hear?” he asked, figuring the shouting must have been heard halfway down the block.

“All of it” she admitted. “I never really left, I was listening from the top of the stairs.” He should have guessed. “Did we make a mistake?” she asked. 

“No” he said immediately, but then he thought. “Yes. Maybe? I don’t know.” He turned around to face her, placing his arms around her. The sadness in her eyes broke his heart for the countless time that morning. He would have paid anything in the world to banish that sadness forever.

“I’m not going back” she declared. 

“I know you don’t want to, but we need to think of the smart thing-” he said, but she interrupted him.

“Fuck that!” she said. She so rarely swore that Hades was shocked into silence. “Doing the smart thing almost had me give up on us, and I’m not doing that again!” Tears started to prick at his eyes as Persephone floated up so they could be face to face. “I love you Hades, and I will fight for you, tooth and nail. Will you?” He pulled her into a tight embrace, partially to hide the tears that were now falling hot and fast down his face. He still didn’t like to cry in front of others, even her. Mostly, he couldn’t bear not having her in his arms, not after a declaration like that.

“Of course, Sweetness” he said. “I would fight the entire pantheon if I had to.” They stayed there holding each other for a few moments, but then a splashing sound had them breaking apart. It had come from the pool. They went down to investigate to find Poseidon, in his underwear, swimming in the pool.

“I didn’t leave” said Poseidon.

“I can see that” replied Hades, unimpressed. Persephone, on the other hand, was giggling. “May I ask why?”

“Well I’m the one who hasn’t actually met Persephone yet, and I for one think that’s not very fair” said Poseidon.

“He’s right, Hades, that’s just fair” said Peresphone. Hades sighed in frustration, but he didn’t feel like fighting. As long as Poseidon was on good behaviour, he supposed he could humour this. 

“Hello Persephone, it’s very nice to finally meet you” he said. “My name is Poseidon, King of the Ocean, but you may call me Broseidon, King of the Brocean.” Persephone giggled again, clearly taken by his boyish charm.

“Hello Broseidon, it’s very nice to meet you too” she said sweetly. Hades then noticed that Poseidon’s eyes were fixed squarely in Persephone’s bare legs, and Persephone seemed to be blissfully unaware.

“Persephone, can you please do me a favour and put some pants on please?” asked Hades, and Persephone looked down at herself as if just remembering that all she was wearing was his hoodie.

“Heh, right, I’ll be right back” she said, blushing, and then left.

“Killjoy” said Poseidon after she was gone.

“Hey man, that’s my girlfriend” replied Hades, the words feeling almost foreign in his mouth. Poseidon lifted himself up so he was sitting on the pool deck, his feet still dangling in the water. 

“Listen dude, I know you’re stressed, and anxious, and probably more than a little mad at yourself right now, but just remember, this feeling is 100 times better than feeling nothing at all” said Poseidon. Hades gave him a half hearted smile, although he really did appreciate his words. “And the feeling you get when she walks into a room is the best feeling in the world.”

“When did you get so emotionally intelligent?” teased Hades.

“Since always” he replied. “You and Zeus just only see me as the dumb frat guys type… which I am, but a person can be more than one thing!” Hades laughed. Persephone came back then, wearing the same chiton she had been wearing at the party. She looked a little bashful, but Hades still thought she looked like the most stunning creature in the world.

“Told you” said Poseidon softly.

“I realized I didn’t have any other clothes, so I just put this back on” she said. Hades brought a hand to his face, feeling embarrassed. Of course she doesn’t have any other clothes, he should have realized.

“Well it seems like you two still have a lot of details to work out, so I’m going to go” said Poseidon, getting out of the pool. He went over to Persephone and took her hand. “Persephone, thank you for being the best thing that has happened to my brother. Don’t let him fuck this up, but if he does, call me.” Persephone blushed and giggled as Hades rolled his eyes. “I would hug you both, but as you can see, I’m very wet.”

“Oh, come here” said Hades, and he pulled both Poseidon and Persephone into a hug. Poseidon was right, he was very wet, but he needed to hug his brother. Once the hug was over, Poseidon disappeared in a flash of green light and the smell of seaweed. Hades looked over at Persephone, who’s only piece of clothing was now not only dirty, but also soaking wet.

“Let’s look at ordering you some new clothes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mythos Note: While most sources agree there were only three Furies, some sources also make reference to a Fury named Telphousia, which was a by-name for a wrathful Demeter.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW
> 
> Slightly shorter chapter this time. Some exposition, and then mostly smut.

After Poseidon had left, Hades and Persephone sat down to make an extensive list of all the things that Persephone needed. Once that was done, Persephone made a second sub-list of all the urgent and necessary items. Hades had decided that he did in fact need to go into the office for a few hours, so he took the second list, all with items that could be purchased from a drug store, and told Persephone he would come back after he was done with everything on the list. Before he left, he set Persephone up on his laptop, handed her one of his credit cards, and told her to buy everything else from the list online, and anything else that she needed or wanted. 

Persephone had only shopped online a few times, and she ended up on the website of one of the stores that Eros liked to take her. She started out with the basics; jeans, t-shirts, socks, sweaters, a few dresses. Thankfully, she didn’t need a coat, seeing as her fur coat had come with her. Then she moved onto a shoe store, ordering a pair of sneakers, a pair of ballet flats, a pair of black boots, and a pair of white pumps like her old ones. After that, she went to a lingerie store, putting only basic bras and cotton panties in the cart. She also added a cute pajama set, as well as some other loungewear, since she figured until they figured out exactly what was going on, she wouldn’t be leaving the house much. She looked at the swimsuits on the site, but ended up deciding to look at an athletics store for one instead. While the two pieces sold by this store were cute, they would not be practical for swimming laps. Before she checked out though, she added to the cart some actually lingerie. She figured if Hades was buying her all of this, then she may as well buy something for him, so to speak.

Admittedly she felt uncomfortable spending all of his money like this. He was the God of Wealth, so her shopping spree probably didn’t seem like much to him, especially since she had tried to buy things on sale, but still, she wished he didn’t need to support her. She had never received her last paycheck from Underworld Corp, she wondered if that could be put towards this. It for sure wouldn’t cover all of it, but at least it would help.

Hades was back around 8pm with all of the items from her list as well as take out for dinner. They ate in the living room, curled up on the couch, instead of at the table. As they ate, Hades told Persephone what she had been desperate to know all evening: the extent of the damage from her mother’s act of wrath.

It turns out it wasn’t as bad as they thought. Demeter didn’t kill every guest from the party, just the people who had still been milling about come morning, which it turned out was exactly 37 people. Persephone’s stomach still churned upon hearing the number, even though it was significantly less than the absolute carnage she was imagining. The alarm was raised mostly because of the rate and location of killings, not the actual number. If this had happened on a battlefield it would have been different, but it was the fact that it had happened in a peaceful town that was cause for concern. Luckily, the bodies had been found in a timely manner, funeral rites were performed, which meant none of them were left waiting on the beach. This made Persephone feel much better, she didn’t want anyone else having to wait because of her. All of their judgements were scheduled for tomorrow, and Hades swore to her that they would be as kindly as he was allowed. 

After dinner, Persephone logged back onto the computer to show Hades some of what she had bought herself. She apologized for how much money she had spent, but apparently Hades thought she had been rather conservative in her spending. He made a joke about how he had had bar tabs that had cost him more money. Persephone laughed nervously, remembering what Tis had told her about his drinking. She didn’t think now was the time to bring that up, so she pushed the thought from her mind.

Hades helped Persephone take the bags from the drugstore up to the bathroom so she put them away. He cleared space for her under the sink and in the medicine cabinet. As she went through the stuff he had bought, she noticed a few things that were not on her list, including a luxury moisturizer she had never tried because it was too expensive, some single use face masks, and a few bottles of nail polish, all in colours she often wore. When she unpacked the tampons he had bought her, she teasingly asked if he was embarrassed to be buying them, and of course his response was perfect.

“I have a woman in my life who trusts me with the most intimate parts of her, what could be embarrassing about that?”

After that, Hades left her to go have a smoke out on the deck. Since they had started dating, he had started a ‘no smoking in the house’ policy, although she had a sneaking suspicion that that rule had left when she did. She appreciated him taking it back up though, and gave him a tender kiss before he left the bedroom. 

Persephone let her chiton drop to the floor and took off her bra and panties. Hades had left her one of his old t-shirts she could use as pajamas until hers could arrive in the mail. Seeing as she was also waiting on new underwear to arrive, she supposed she would be sleeping without those tonight. She crawled into bed, but since she didn’t know how long Hades would bem she looked around to if there was anything to read while she waited. On Hades’ bedside table she spied it, her pink spiral notebook. She must have left it here after their last date. 

The first thing she noticed when she grabbed it off the bedside table were the tabs. Persephone was very particular about her colour coding. She had only used blue tabs in this notebook, for obvious reasons. Now, however, there were pink tabs stuck into the notebook as well, mingling with her blue ones. She started to flip through the pages, and noticed that the changes didn’t stop there. Persephone used pink highlighter exclusively, but there were passages highlighted in blue now. _Someone_ had been going through her notebook, and clearly making note of things. She flipped to where one of the pink tabs had been stuck, and found a page about getting tied to the bed frame. Her entire body flooded with warmth as she re-read what she had written, noting which places were now highlighted in blue.

Persephone looked up as Hades walked back into the bedroom. “Whatcha got there?” he asked, noticing her reading. She lifted the notebook to show him what it was, and he blushed deep blue. “Oh, yeah, you left that here” he said.

“My love” said Persephone, “have you been reading my sex notebook?” She had a cheeky smile on her face as she spoke.

“Well, can you blame me?” he said. He started unbuttoning his dress shirt, although Persephone was unsure if it was because he was sensing how turned on she was getting or because he was just changing into pajamas.

“There are new tabs and highlights in it” she said. He tossed his shirt away, and began to undo his belt

“Are you sure you didn’t do those?” he asked, innocently. He took off his pants and then went over to his dresser. _Damn, he’s putting pajamas on._

“I’m positive” she replied. “I used blue tabs and pink highlights, and now there’s pink tabs and blue highlights. It’s a complementary and yet separate colour coding system.” He pulled a pair of pajama pants out of the drawer. “Oh, please don’t put clothes on” she practically whined. 

“Now Little Goddess,” he said gently, “it’s been a long day, we should just go to sleep.” While his words technically made sense, but she still pouted.

“I would have agreed with you before I saw the tabs” she said. Hades turned to face her, his face curious.

“Are you telling me you’re getting turned on by colour coding?” he asked.

“I am turned on by the fact that you took the time to indulge in my sexy research project and participate fully” she replied, her voice lower and more gravely than before. Hades gave a throaty chuckle and then crawled into bed, abandoning the pajama pants. He was looking at her hungrily, which only served to excite her more. He took her face in his hand, but right before he could kiss her, she spoke again. “Also a little bit because of the colour coding.”

Then his lips were on hers, kissing her passionately, and yet he was gentler than she expected, not that she minded. His lips were soft and wet against hers. She opened her mouth eagerly, and his tongue gently and slowly grazed against her bottom lip sending shivers down her spine. His lips moved to her neck, making her groan in pleasure.

“It has been a long, hard day” he said in _that_ voice, the deep, gravely voice that turned Persephone into a puddle. His lips were leaving a train of kisses down her neck, and his voice was so low that as he spoke against her skin, she could feel it resonate deep in her bones. “Let me take care of you.” His hands found their way to the edge of her t-shirt, lifting it up. She lifted her arms in order to help, and soon she was free of it. Hades lips moved to her breasts, taking one of her nipples in his mouth, giving it a little suck. Persephone mewled in pleasure, and Hades’ tongue began to draw circles around her nipple, eventually giving it a little flick that caused Persephone’s brain to short circuit. 

“It’s been a ha-HA!” Persephone tried to speak, but Hades had moved to her other breast and had given her nipple a small nip. He looked up at her, a wicked smile on his face and pure adoration in his eyes. “H-hard to for you too” she finally managed to get out. She was sure he needed to be taken care of just as much as she did.

“It pleases me to please you, my Goddess” he said seductively. “Now lie back, and just relax.” Persephone laid her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes. Without being able to see what Hades was doing, the sensations he caused with his touch were amplified. His mouth was moving down her body, each kiss he left on her igniting a ragged desire deep within her. His hand gently caressed her body all the way down, until they found her thighs. As he pushed them apart Persephone opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at him. He had positioned himself between her legs, his face inches from her dripping folds. Her brain had caught up, and she knew what he was planning. They had never done that before.

“Is this alright?” he asked, regarding her carefully.

“Y-yes” she said, the haze of pleasure he made her feeling wreaking havoc on the connection between her brain and her mouth. Suddenly thoughts were popping into her mind that she hadn’t thought of before. Should she have shaved down there? Would she taste alright? “It’s just, are you sure you-?”

“Sweetness, I have been dreaming of tasting you” he said, cutting her off. He was using that voice again, and Persephone let her head fall back down onto the pillow. Hades gave a throating chuckle, and then Persephone felt the gentle touch of his tongue on her.

Persephone let out an involuntary gasp at the new sensation. His tongue was so soft and warm against her, and was tracing its way around her with a pressure so light it was almost infuriatingly teasing, but still felt so indescribably incredible. His movements were so slow, almost calculated, as he explored her with his mouth. Then his tongue found her swollen bud, and a sudden shock wave of pleasure caused a cry to escape Persephone lips. Hades gave another chuckle, and the vibration of the sound against her caused another shiver of sensation. 

Hades’ movements began to speed up, making Persephone moan. In one moment his tongue would be relaxed, and soft, exploring her thoroughly, and then next moment, the hard tip of his tongue would be concentrating on her clit. Persephone had never felt anything like this before, never wanting these sensations to stop. Almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind she felt Hades’ mouth move away from her. She opened her eyes and lifted her head again, confused and disappointed.

“Are you pouting at me?” he asked gruffly.

“Why did you stop?” she asked, her voice pleading. That wicked smile was back on his lips. He was staring into her eyes as he shifted his weight so he could free one of his hands, which until then had been wrapped around her thighs. Then, keeping her gaze intently, he slipped a finger inside of her. Persephone let out a strangled cry at the sudden feeling.

“Is this alright?” he asked again, but this time the question was teasing, he already knew the answer. 

“Mmm” she moaned as he curled his finger inside of her to rub so delectable against her velvet walls. She loved the sensation of him inside of her, but one finger was still so teasing. She fought her way through the haze to speak again. “M-m-more!” she finally managed to get out. 

“More?” he repeated. She bit her lip and nodded. “Ask me nicely” growled.

“Please” she begged. “I need-”

But that was apparently enough for him. He slipped his one finger out and Persephone cried out when he entered again, this time with two fingers. They moved in tandem, with circular motion that was causing an intense pressure to build deep within her. This only lasted a few moments though, as he slipped out of her again. Persephone didn;t have time to protest this time though, as soon she was being filled with three fingers. She groaned as she stretched to accommodate him.

“Oh Gods yes” she breathed, her back arching in pleasure. 

“You make the most divine sounds” murmured Hades. She giggled, part of her bashful, but the giggles quickly transformed into cries of delight as his tongue found its way back to her clit. His tongue lapped at her hungrily as his fingers moved intently and dexterously inside her. The sensation of her being pleasured both ways was almost too much for her to handle. Her one hand balled into a fist, gripping the bed sheets, for if she didn’t she feared she would float away. Her other hand was in his hair, and part of her was hanging onto him simply so he didn’t dare move away from her again. 

She was so close now, each flick of his tongue threatening to send her over the edge but still never quite pushing her over. Could he tell how close she was riding the edge of this? Was he prolonging it on purpose to make it all the sweeter?

“Oh Hades, don’t stop” she begged. “I’m-I’m gonna-OH!” She cried out as his lips wrapped themselves around her clit and he began to suck. The intense sensation sent wave after wave of ecstasy crashing over her and she couldn’t hold on any longer. She screamed as she finally exploded in pleasure, her fingers tightening on his hair, her entire body shaking. He continued to suck as she rode the apex of her ecstacy. She could feel her muscles convulsing, the aftershocks of her orgasm causing her pulse against his fingers that were still inside of her. 

Once she recovered, she let out a throaty giggle. She couldn't believe how amazing that had felt. She felt Hades slip out of her, then crawled on top of her. He regarded her blissed out expression with eyes thick with pleasure.

“Have I pleased you?” he asked, but she knew he already knew the answer.

“Very much” she murmured, and then lifted her lips to kiss him. He was so wet from her. It was a very strange thing to taste herself on him, but she liked it.

“Good” he said, and then rolled off of her to lie next to her on his back. Persephone shifted so she was on her side, her fingers trailing up and down his body. He closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the sensation of her touch. She looked down, spying how his underwear was stretched over his arousal. Her hand drifted downwards, his cock giving a twitch as she teased it over his underwear. “What are you doing?” he asked lazily, but he did open his eyes to see.

“Keep your eyes closed” she said, getting an idea.

“Mkay” he replied, a wide smile stretched over his face. She pulled his underwear down, and he shifted his body to make it easier on her. Once they were free of his legs she tossed them aside. Then she took his hard cock in her hand and began to stroke up and down. He moaned as she did, his pleasure spurring her on. She lifted herself up on her knees next to him, and then she bent down and took the head of his cock in her mouth.

Hades inhaled sharply. “Sweetness…” he groaned. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to…” he said. Persephone sat up, confused.

“But… why wouldn’t I want to?” she asked him. He lifted his head and opened his eyes to look at her. “Close your eyes” she commanded. He complied.

“Sorry” he said, but there was a smile on his face. 

“I like to make you feel good” she said, stroking his cock with her hand again. “And I like to taste every inch of you.” She put her mouth around it again, and Hades let out a long groan of pleasure. 

She began to move her mouth up and down his cock in long, languid motions. She quickly discovered that she couldn’t take the entire thing in her mouth, he was simply too big. She used her hand as well, wrapping it around the base of his cock and moving it in tandem with her mouth. She tried to remember the notes she had taken about blow jobs, thinking it would rather ruin the mood if she snuck a peek at her notebook while she was doing this, despite it lying open on the bedside table. She swirled her tongue around the head, causing another moan to escape Hades lips. Figuring she was on the right track she used her tongue to flick the very tip of his cock. Another sharp inhale of breath let her know that that was a keeper.

“Oh, fuck, Sweetness” groaned Hades as Persephone took as much of him in her mouth as she possibly could, moving her mouth up and down again, sucking all the way. She knew she was probably being a little sloppy, it was her first time doing this after all, but he was certainly enjoying it by the way he moaned. She took her other hand and used it to cup his balls. “Oh gods” he breathed as she tickled them with her fingers. His hand moved to her head, his fingers lacing themselves into her hair as hers had done to him earlier. She started to suck harder and move faster. He gripped at her hair, pulling it slightly, but she liked the feeling. “W-wait, slower” he said, and she slowed down, all the way to a stop, and then slowly pulled her mouth away. “I didn’t say stop” he moaned, a hint of the same disappointment she had earlier in his voice, which gave her a slight feeling of satisfaction. He hadn’t opened his eyes though, which she was pleased by. She brought her head back down, but instead of taking his cock in her mouth, she traced her tongue, starting from the base, all the way up the long line there to the very tip. Then she started sucking on it again, this time slowly taking more and more of it in her mouth. It turned out she could take more than she thought. “Gaia, Sweetness, I’m gonna-Gods-I’m…” She knew he was about to explode, so she took him as far into her mouth as she dared and sucked hard. With a groan he let his hot release hit the back of her throat, filling her mouth with his godseed. She enjoyed the feeling of his cock pulsing in her mouth and in her hand as his orgasm coursed through him, and she loved even more that she was the one to make that happen.

Once he was done, she pulled her mouth away, swallowing his release. She curled up next to him, his heart still beating fast, his breathing still ragged. “Can I open my eyes now?” he asked playfully.

“I supposed” she replied, just as playfully. He opened his eyes and looked at her adoringly. She would never get tired of being looked at like that.

“You’re incredible” he said to her. She placed a gentle kiss on his nose.

“No you” she said in a cutesy voice. He smiled at her, and then stroked her cheek with his hand.

“I can still barely believe you’re here” he admitted. 

“Me neither” she replied. She tucked her head into his chest, moving her arms so she could wrap them around him. “But I don’t want to be anywhere else.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very sentimental chapter.

All throughout the next week package after package arrived at the house. Persephone did her best to make sure the delivery people were far from the house before she slipped outside to collect her items from the front step. As she opened up package after package, she was starting to realize that perhaps Hades had gone back and ordered her a few extra things at some point. She was certainly not the one to order the diamond studs that had arrived, but when she unwrapped them she nervously thought of how to tell him she didn’t have her ear pierced. 

The gifts did not stop there. One day Hades came home with a brand new phone, the latest model that wasn’t even on the market yet. The next day he came home with a brand new laptop for her. The day after that he showed up with a new fitness tracker that Persephone had absolutely no idea what to do with. At that point she had to gently, yet firmly, put her foot down.

When she was pretty sure everything had arrived, she went through all of the receipts to make sure she had everything. Hades had cleared out space in his closet, as well as showed up one day after work with a new dresser, so Persephone had plenty of space to put away all over new clothes. She washed everything when it arrived, and was in the middle of folding and putting away her new clothes one day when the doorbell rang.

At first she ignored it, the delivery people usually rang the doorbell to indicate there was a package there, and then leave it on the front step. But then there were three quick raps on the door. This didn’t normally happen. Persephone quickly turned herself into a butterfly and flew out the bedroom window so she could see who was at the door.

Sure enough, it was another delivery person, a golden satyr, who had a rather large package in his hands. Persephone didn’t know of anything she ordered that would be in a box of that size, but this might have been something Hades had secretly ordered for her. 

“Hello?” called the satyr. “Anyone home? I need a signature.” There was something off about this, Persephone could feel it. Then it hit her. She flew back in the bedroom, transformed back into herself, and then hurried downstairs.

“Oh” said the satyr when she opened the door. “I didn’t think anyone was home.”

“Sorry, I was upstairs” said Persephone. He reached out her hand, and the satyr handed her the signature device. _Nice touch._ After she was done she handed him back the device, and the satyr handed her the package.

“I’ll be on my way then” he said, and then turned to go.

“Wait” said Persephone. “Why don’t you come in for a cup of tea, Your Majesty?” The satyr froze for a moment, but when he turned back around, he changed. Where there was once a delivery man, there was now the Queen of the Gods, with an impressed smirk on her face.

“Well I don’t know about tea, but I’ll take a gin and tonic” she said, and then walked past Persephone and into the house. Persephone grabbed her abandoned props, closed the door, and hurried in behind her. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here” said Hera, making her way immediately to Hades' liquor cabinet.

“Little bit, Your Majesty” said Persephone, dumping the props on the kitchen table, trying to keep up with Hera who clearly knew her way around here. 

“Please, no need for all that. Call me Hera.” She grabbed a tall glass out of the cupboard, dropped in a couple ice cubes from the freezer, and filled the glass two thirds full with gin. She paused and looked up a Persephone. “Did you want one?”

“Um, it’s like 3 in the afternoon” said Persephone, a little shocked by how much alcohol Hera had poured herself. Hera looked at her blankly. “No thank you, I think I’ll have that tea.” Hera shrugged, and then went to the fridge to pull out the tonic.

“Suit yourself” she said, topping off her glass with tonic. Persephone put the kettle on and started prepping her favourite mug with her favourite tea. “I had a hunch you were here” said Hera, taking a sip of her drink and leaning on the counter. “Of course, Zeus wouldn’t tell me anything, which just served to confirm my suspicions.”

“How so?” asked Persephone. 

“He thinks I’m obsessed with you” Hera said casually. “I’m not, by the way.” 

“I’m… I’m not entirely sure how to respond to that” said Persephone. The kettle boiled, she poured her tea. 

“I do care about you though, you know that, right?” asked Hera. Persephone turned to face her, cradling the hot mug of tea in her hands.

“I do” said Persephone. “But… if I’m honest… I’m not entirely sure why sometimes” she admitted, looking away, uncomfortable. Hera just smiled at her.

“Do you remember when we first met?” asked Hera. Persephone perked up, the memories flooding back to her. 

“At the party at your house” said Persephone. “I was nervous to be there.”

“I remember” said Hera. “I found you hiding away in the kitchen… and then I gave you that crown and you became the life of the party.”

“Excuse me, I think you mean _Queen_ of the party” said Persephone, remember how that crown made her feel. All those new people made her feel so uncomfortable, but as soon as Hera put that crown on her, she had all the confidence in the world.

“That’s right” said Hera. “You even bossed Zeus around, do you remember that?” Persephone blushed, vaguely remembering ordering the purple king to go get her some juice. She remembered how proud of herself she was when he gave her a deep bow, saying her wish was his command, then returning a few minutes later with some apple juice in a plastic champagne glass. “You still never left my side all night though” continued Hera.

“You made me feel safe” replied Persephone. Hera smiled somewhat sadly when Persephone said that, confusing her. 

“You remind me a lot of myself” Hera admitted. “Believe it or not, I used to be a lot like you. But then… well… things changed, obviously.” Hera took another sip of her drink. “I look at you and I see what I could have been, if I hadn’t let myself become so jaded and bitter.”

“You’re not jaded and bitter” said Persephone, automatically. 

“You’re cute” replied Hera, “but even you’re not that blind.” Persephone didn’t know what to say, so she just smiled comfortingly. “I just wish I had someone around to protect me from...:” Hera trailed off, lost in thought. Persephone said nothing, almost afraid to. Hera snapped back to reality. “Which is why I owe you an apology” she said, shocking Persephone.

“What do you have to apologize to me for, your-I mean-Hera?” she asked, flustered.

“The day I gave you the internship, I had a vision” said Hera. “I knew you had been assaulted, and while I didn’t see who, it didn’t take me long to figure it out.” Persephone had no idea what to say, trying desperately to process the information she had heard. “I brought it up to Zeus, but didn’t want to hear it. This was of course before you lodged your formal complaint.” She took another sip of her drink. “And then after that I just didn’t want to push it.” She looked at Persephone, with a serious look on her face. “I should have protected you better.”

“You did what you could” said Persephone, hating the sad look in Hera’s eyes. “I mean, it’s not like there was much anyone could have done…”

“I still should have done more, once I realized…” said Hera.

“It’s okay” said Persephone. “Besides, I think I’ve proven that I’m pretty good at protecting myself.” Hera let out a dark chuckle.

“I saw the aftermath of the conference room” said Hera. She lifted her hand and her cigarette holder appeared, an already lit cigarette on the end of it. 

“Um, do you mind not smoking in here?” asked Persephone. Hera gave her a very confused look.

“Your boyfriend smokes like a damn chimney stack and you’re saying I can’t smoke in here?” said Hera, clearly unimpressed.

“Actually, he only smokes on the deck now” said Persephone. Hera stared at her blanking.

“What have you done to him?” asked Hera, and Persephone just gave an apologetic smile in response. Hera sighed. “Fine, I’ll go on the deck. But only if you come with me.” Persephone nodded and followed Hera outside, grabbing an extra sweater on her way. Hera leaned on the railing looking out onto the practically barren gardens. She took a drag of her cigarette. “I’m surprised you haven’t done anything with this, or have you tried already?”

“Oh no, I make things grow here” said Persephone. “We just thought the sudden appearance of a thriving garden might draw some unwanted attention.”

“Smart” said Hera. Persephone leaned on the railing next to Hera. The plants that had grown back here the night Persephone had confessed to Hades about Apollo had long since wilted. The only things that grew were the pomegranate trees that were scattered about the expansive grounds. A thin layer of snow covered them now, but the brightly coloured fruits were still visible from the porch. “I suppose we should also talk about what you heard at your mother’s” said Hera. Persephone was shocked and confused, how could she have known?

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about” she said, trying to play it off. Hera gave her knowing smile. 

“You can’t con a con man, little butterfly” said Hera. Persephone blushed. “Oh yes, I knew you were there the whole time… and I’m sorry you had to hear some of that.”

“That’s okay” said Persephone. “I mean, it wasn’t your fault, and really, I should thank you for going to the wall for me.”

“Anytime” said Hera. She took another drag from her cigarette. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t say part of why I did it is because I felt more than a little guilty. About the vision and about…” she trailed off, but Persephone could guess.

“What happened between Zeus and my mom?” she offered. Hera nodded. 

“It happened so long ago, back before the war even. Gods, we were all so young…” Hera took a long sip of her drink. This must be hard for her to say, and Persephone wondered why she was confessing this to her. “When I first found out I thought Zeus had just cheated on me, and I was so heartbroken and betrayed. I couldn’t believe my sister would do that to me. But then I found out…” she trailed off again, staring off into space. “I didn’t know what to do… so I did nothing.” A single tear trailed down her golden cheek.

“You’re being too hard on yourself” said Persephone, desperately wanting to make her feel better. “I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to be in that position.” Hera gave her another sad smile.

“You’re so kind” said Hera quietly. She wiped the tear away quickly, almost embarrassed that she even cried at all. “And just so you know, Zeus is different now. I mean, he may still make some really bad choices, but he would never do that. In that respect, at least, he’s changed.”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me” said Persephone. 

“And don’t be too hard on Hades either” she said. Persephone looked at her, confused. _Wait, did Hades know about…?_ “About the affair, I mean” continued Hera, and Persephone relaxed. 

“I guess I was a little shocked to hear about it” said Persephone. “I mean, I know what everybody else thinks about him, but I just never thought he was that kind of guy.”

“He’s not” said Hera so quickly she almost cut Persephone off. “I was the piece of shit in that relationship, not him.” Persephone near spat out her tea hearing Hera refer to herself like that. She never thought Hera would be the kind of person to talk about herself like that, but sometimes it’s hard to know what’s really going on in someone’s head. “Being with me nearly tore him apart, he felt so guilty about it” continued Hera. “I could see how much it was affecting him, but I was getting my needs met, so that was all I cared about. He tried to end it so many times and I just… I wouldn’t let him.” She took one last drag on her cigarette, but as that one became small enough that it disappeared into the holder, a fresh one appeared in its place. “I suppose I have some things to apologize for” she said quietly, and for some reason Peresphone didn’t think she was speaking to her anymore. 

Persephone took a step closer to her, and leaned her head on Hera’s shoulder. The two women stood there in silence for a few moments, Persephone hoping this was in some way comforting to Hera. It was such a strange thing, to hear of the things Hera had done wrong against Hades. She hated hearing about the pain she had caused him, but she still didn’t want Hera to be in pain either. 

“Forgive me for prying” said Hera, breaking the silence, “but have you two talked about the other thing you heard during that little conversation?” Persephone straightened up, a sort of guilt gripping at her insides.

“No, not yet” she said. She didn’t know if she really wanted to talk about this right now, but Hera had just shared so much with her. “I mean, I don’t exactly know how to bring it up, you know? It’s like, ‘Hey, heard through the grapevine that you’re shooting blanks, care to discuss?’”

“Yeah, that’s really awkward” said Hera. “Is it… you know… a problem? For you, I mean.”

“I mean obviously not” replied Persephone. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“True” said Hera.

“And, it’s like you said, I wasn’t going to be having kids in TGOEM anyway” said Persphone. “And you know, there’s other options I suppose, but like, that’s a waaaay down the line discussion.” Persephone hung her head. Thinking about this always made words difficult. “The thing I hate the most about though? He was robbed of the opportunity to tell me himself. I just hate that.”

“You could just pretend you don’t know and wait for him to bring it up” suggested Hera.

“I can’t do that” said Persephone. “I would know, and that’s just not fair to him.”

“You’re a really good person” said Hera, and for some reason, Persephone got annoyed at hearing her say that.

“Why does everyone keep telling me that?” she asked, exasperated.

“Because you are” asserted Hera.

“Are you sure it’s not just because I’m young and naive?” she asked, turning away. She didn’t need any more reminders of that, her mother had done a great job of asserting that fact every day all summer.

“Hey” said Hera tenderly. Persephone turned back to her and saw that she had put down her drink and cigarette and was holding her hands out to Persephone. Persephone took them, and Hera squeezed her hands in comfort. “There aren’t a lot of good people in this world. I mean, I don’t think there are a lot of bad people either. I just think most people are selfish. But you are a genuinely good person, and that’s really hard to come by. You have this unique ability to always see the good in people, even when they can’t see it in themselves, and that has nothing to do with your goddess powers, it’s just who you are. You see people not just for how they are but for how they could be.” The words echoed something Hades had once said to her, and tears started to prick her eyes. “And yes, maybe that can be a liability sometimes, but like most of our liabilities, it’s also an incredible gift.” This surprised Persephone, she had never thought of it that way. “You make people want to be better versions of themselves, and that’s such a special thing. Never let anyone take that away from you.” Persephone had no idea what to say, and she was so choked up by Hera's kind words that she didn’t think she actually could speak without crying. All she could do was smile at the Golden Queen, who smiled back warmly.

The both jumped when they heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of the pack rushing to the door. “Honey, I’m home” called Hades in a corny voice. “I hope you’re not tired of hearing that, because I will never get tired of saying it.” They heard him make his way through the house, but Persephone wasn’t about to greet him yet. She gripped Hera’s tightly.

“Now’s your chance” she said, and Hera gave her an apprehensive look.

“My chance to what?” she asked, cautiously.

“Where are you?” called Hades.

“We’re out on the deck” Persephone called back. “To apologize!” she said to Hera, who now looked actively afraid.

“Who’s we?” asked Hades, concern in his voice.

“What? No!” said Hera, trying to pull her hands away, but Persephone was not letting go.

“Hera” said Hades, and Persephone and Hera both turned their heads to see him standing in the sliding door that led back into the house. Dogs were running out onto the deck, taking advantage of the open door, but Hades was fixated on the two women in front of him. “What are you doing here?”

“I… um…” stuttered Hera. Persephone didn’t think she had ever seen her at a loss for words before. She turned back to Persephone, anxiety across her face. “What if he doesn’t forgive me?” she whispered, panicked.

“He may not” Persephone whispered back. “And that’s okay!” she quickly followed up when Hera started to look even more panicked. “An apology is given freely, without expectation. It will be his choice to forgive you, and he may not be ready yet. But your apology will give him that opportunity.” Hera scrunched up her face.

“You know, I think you’ve spent too much time around Athena, much too wise for your age” she said, giving Persephone a boop on the nose, making Persephone smile. Hera took a deep breath and then turned to face Hades, who still looked incredibly confused and concerned. 

“Do you want me to give you some time alone?” asked Persephone.

“No!” said Hera quickly. Hera gave the hand she was still holding a squeeze. “Please stay.” Persephone smiled at her, and her memory was once again taken to a party, but perhaps now, the roles were reversed. 

“Is someone going to tell what is going here?” asked Hades.

“Yes” said Hera, turning back to him. “Hades… Aidoneus… It’s high time I apologized to you for how I treated you during our affair.” Hades looked very uncomfortable now. Part of the reason why Persephone had offered privacy was for his benefit, not just Hera’s. Persephone gave Hera’s hand an encouraging squeeze, and she continued. “I acted selfishly, and that wasn’t fair to you or our friendship. I am deeply sorry for how much I hurt you, and I just hope that you’re able to forgive me.” Persephone watched as Hades considered Hera’s words carefully. Finally he spoke.

“Thank you Hera” he said. “It means a lot to hear you say that.” He paused, and looked to Persephone. She smiled at him encouragingly, hoping he would feel her support. “And yes, I forgive you” he said finally. Hera let go the breath she was holding and a big smile erupted over Persephone’s face.

“See? Don’t you feel better?” she asked Hera.

“Ugh, no” said Hera, adopting her usual demeanor again. “No more trying to make me a better person.” Hera let go of Persephone’s hand to go retrieve the last of her abandoned gin and tonic. Persephone took the opportunity to float herself over to Hades, take his still slightly shocked face in her hands, and kiss him. She wanted to tell him how proud of him she was, but didn’t want to do so in front of Hera. Instead she smiled at him with all the love in her heart. He smiled back at her, and Persephone hoped he got the message. “Well, I should get out of your hair” said Hera. “Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about this. I think it’s smart of you to lay low for a while, at least until Demeter gets back from her walkabout.” Persephone nodded appreciatively, and the three of them headed back inside.

“Oh, don’t forget your props” said Persephone, heading over to where she had dumped them.

“I’ll take the signature thingy, but that box is actually for you” said Hera. “It’s a dress I don’t really wear. You may need to take out the chest a little since you have bigger boobs than me, but it laces up the back, so it shouldn’t be too bad.” Hera took the signature device from Persephone and then headed to the door. “You know,” she said, just before she stepped out, “I haven’t replaced that portrait I set on fire earlier this year.”

“Hera…” said Hades, a hint of warning in his tone that confused Persephone.

“I’m just saying” she said innocently, winked at Hades, and then slipped out the door.

“Hera pretended to be a delivery person so she could check to see if I was here” said Persephone once Hera was gone, answering the question that she was sure was on Hades’ mind. 

“That sounds like her” said Hades. He turned to Persephone, a sort of apprehensive expression on his face. “So… I supposed this means you know about the affair…”

“Yes” said Persephone. His expression looked so pained and hesitant, she wanted nothing more to reassure him, so she spoke as quickly as possible. “And I don’t care, I mean at all. I mean like, I can’t judge you for stuff that happened before we met. And I’m sure you would have told me eventually, so I’m not bothered by that either. It’s just-”

“Persephone” Hades said, interrupting her tirade. “Thank you.”

“There’s something else” said Persephone, plucking up the courage to finally have this difficult conversation. “I found out about the affair from a conversation I overheard between Hera and my mother when she was over the night before the party… And I found out something else too… something I don’t quite know how to talk to you about…”

“Just tell me, Sweetness” he said tenderly. “You can tell me anything.” Persephone took a deep breath.

“I… I know that you… can’t have children” Persephone confessed. Hades’ face fell, something Persephone was afraid of.

“I… I...” he started, but he seemed to not be able to find words. Persephone’s heart was beating faster as he struggled to speak. “I don’t know if I want to talk about this right now” he said, and then turned away from her.

“Wait!” she said, but he didn’t listen, walking towards the stairs. She held her hands out in front of her and let a burst of power surge through her, and a wall vines grew in front of the staircase blocking Hades’ path. Hades turned back around to face her, his expression a mixture of anger and hurt. Gods, this must be really hard for him. “Hades, please, let’s sit” she said, as she headed over to the couch. For a moment Persephone thought he was going to stay rooted where he was, but then he joined her on the couch.

“This is not how I wanted to have this conversation” he said.

“I know” she said. “Believe me, I hate how I found out, it’s tearing me apart inside.” Her words softened his expression, now it was less angry and more sad. “The first thing I want to say here is that I hate that we’re not having this discussion at the appropriate time, which is years from now.” She paused, seeing if he wanted to interject, but he stayed silent, so she kept going. “I mean, up until recently, I thought I was going to be a maiden for all eternity, so kids were certainly not on my radar. The concept of me being a mother is so abstract to me I can barely even wrap my hands around it.” She realized she was going slightly off topic. “My point is, this doesn’t change anything, this doesn’t change _us_.” She reached across the couch and took his hand. “This doesn’t change how I feel about you, and I need you to know that.” He slipped his hand out of hers.

“You say that now” he said, “but what if you decide, down the line, that this is something you want. You don’t know what you’re going to want in the future, what if you regret-”

“Stop” she said, realizing he was starting to spiral. “I may not be able to predict the future, but I do know that I will never regret any choice I make with you.” This earned her a half hearted smile, but not his hand back. “This kind of brings me to my second point though.” He lifted his curiously. “I’m a fertility goddess, I mean, after everything that’s happened, it’s pretty safe to assume that now. Growing stuff is kind of my thing.” She motioned to the vines that were still blocking the path to upstairs. “I have made forests grow in places that actively contradict the concept of life itself.” Persephone could see that Hades was starting to understand where she was going with this. “I’m just saying, and I’m fairly confident in this… that if down the road… you and I wanted to make something, someone, together… I could grow… something… for us…” 

Hades was covering his eyes with his hand now, but Persephone could see the tears streaming hot and fast down his face. She tentatively reached across the couch to lay a hand on him, and her touch seemed to give him permission. He began to sob openly, unable to hold back the flood of emotions.

“Oh, don’t cry” said Persephone tenderly as she crawled into his lap. Her eyes were starting to water with her own tears. “You’re going to make me cry.”

“But you cry at everything” said Hades, still managing to tease her. Persephone half laughed and half sobbed as the tears broke free. He wrapped his arms around her holding her tight to him. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he asked.

“I keep telling you” she said. “It’s because you’re the most amazing man in the world.” Persephone knew Hades always felt weird when she complimented him like that, so he let out a soggy laugh. They stayed there holding each other for a long time, neither of them wanted to let go. Then, Persephone finally broke the silence. “There’s something else I need to tell you” she said, and Hades stiffened. “The earrings you bought me are lovely but… I don’t have my ears pierced.” Hades stared at her blankly for a moment, clearly expecting a much more serious confession. Then he smiled, sighed, and shook his head.

“I knew I was forgetting something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS. Hera drinks gin and tonics the way I drink gin and tonics. Especially during lockdown.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minthe gets Minty

_She was back in the greenhouse, sitting on the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees. Everything was perfect in here. Every single one of her plants had grown exactly how she wanted them too, each one of her flowers had bloomed so beautifully. There was nothing left for her to do but sit and wait. She looked out the window, waiting for someone to come by. She was so alone. Eventually, her mama walked up to the glass wall of the greenhouse, looking in with a proud smile on her face._

_“You’ve done so wonderful, Kore” she said, looking around as best she could at her work. “Everything looks absolutely perfect.” She stood up from her place on the floor and walked to the window where her mama was standing._

_“Mama, I want to leave now” she said._

_“Now Kore, we’ve talked about this” said mama._

_“Please mama-” she begged, tears starting to fall._

_“It’s for your own good” continued mama. A sudden rage gripped her._

_“Let me out NOW!” she screamed._

_Suddenly there was a huge explosion, originating from outside the greenhouse, far off in the distance. Both her and mama look towards the source of the sound to see that the sky had been lit on fire. Then she watched in horror as the horizon was painted with bright orange lines, leading down towards the earth._

_“Now Kore, look what you’ve done” said mama. A massive cloud of smoke gathered in the distance, and fire and rock began to rain from the sky._

_“I… I did that?” she asked, her voice shaking with fear. No, it wasn’t possible. Then the screaming started, the horrible, terror-filled screaming. It was coming from far away, but it was getting louder and closer._

_“You’ve made quite the mess” said mama. Mama was looking down at something, and she looked down too to see her hands were covered in dark red blood._

_“No…” she said in horror, her hands shaking as she brought them up to look at them. The longer she looked, the more blood appeared on them. The screaming was getting louder too. “No!”_

_“It’s okay, Kore, I’ll clean it up” said mama, calmly. She looked outside, and the black cloud had reached them. Fireballs were falling all around them, but none of them hit the greenhouse. Mama didn’t seem to be afraid of them. Mama just looked at her with sadness and disappointment in her eyes._

_“Let me help” she yelled, slamming her bloody hands against the glass. Mama shook her head._

_“No, you stay here” said mama, and her hands slowly slid down the greenhouse wall, leaving long trails of dark red blood. “This way you can’t hurt anyone else.”_

***

Persephone woke with a start, shooting straight up in bed. She was breathing fast and a layer of cold sweat had formed over her entire body. She remembered where she was. She was in the Underworld, she was in Hades’ house, she was in bed next to the love of her life. She started to calm down, everything was okay.

 _Sugar snaps_ , she thought. _I thought I was over that._

She looked over at Hades, who was still fast asleep next to her. He was so beautiful when he slept. All of his worries fell away and he just looked so peaceful. She knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep now, so she carefully got out of bed so as not to wake him. He deserved as much good sleep as she could get. She tossed on a hoodie and then padded downstairs into the kitchen.

According to the clock on the over it was 4:47am. Probably not worth trying to get a few extra hours sleep after a calming cup of tea. Maybe she’d take a nap in the afternoon, if she needed it. She put the kettle on, prepped her favorite mug with a bag of sleepy time tea, and then opened the fridge looking for a post nightmare snack. She pulled out the last slice of a raspberry cheesecake she had made last week. The kettle boiled, she poured her tea, and ended up crawling on top of the kitchen island to sit cross legged on the counter. She took a bite of the cheesecake, letting the sugary treat comfort her.

“Kore?” she heard Hades call sleepily from upstairs. The sound of that name on his voice was a comfort after her nightmare. 

“Down here” she called back. She turned her head to see him coming down the stairs. He was in his underwear, his favourite black robe open. He had a slightly concerned look on his face, but he smiled when he saw her. He came over to her, placing a loving hand on her shoulder and gave her a small kiss.

“What are you doing up so early?” he asked tenderly.

“Nightmare” she confessed. He leaned on the counter next to her. She took a sip of her tea, the sleepy time blend doing its best to soothe her.

“Was it about Apollo?” he asked. 

“No” she replied. “I haven’t had a nightmare about him in a long time, not since the conference room.” Hades didn’t say anything, waiting for her to fill in what her nightmare had been about. “I actually don’t really want to talk about it, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is” he said. She smiled appreciatively, then picked up another bite of cheesecake with her fork. 

“Cheesecake?” she asked, offering him her fork. He nodded, and then opened his mouth so she could feed him the bite. 

“So, what are you going to get up to today?” he asked.

“I don’t know” she replied, appreciating the distraction. “Maybe I’ll bake something, there’s a distinct lack of post nightmare baked goods in the fridge right now.”

“You know, when I usually get woken up by a nightmare, I go for a swim” he said.

“Well then you and I lead very different lives, because I usually go for a piece of cake” she said, and then popped another bite of cheesecake in her mouth. “I’ll probably just end up reading. I always think I’m going to get stuff done while you’re at work, but I always end up gettingsucked in by the books.”

“You are just tearing your way through my library” commented Hades.

“What can I say? You have a fascinating collection” she said, and then polished off the cheesecake. 

It had been almost a month since Hades had brought Persephone to the Underworld, and they had fallen into somewhat of a routine. They spent the mornings together, eating breakfast usually out on the deck, regardless of the weather. If it was cold it just meant that Persephone ate breakfast from Hades’ lap, which neither of them minded. Then Hades would go to work, and Persephone would spend the majority of her day in Hades’ library. Shortly before Hades would come home, Persephone would start prepping dinner for the two of them. Then they would spend the evening together, sometimes watching a movie, sometimes just talking, sometimes spending time in the pool, sometimes going to bed early, but not going to sleep. It was a comfortable life they had developed together, and everyday Persephone was so happy to be here rather than in the mortal realm with her mother.

She did, in fact, end up in the library, lost in a book. She got into these intense states while she was reading where she could block out the rest of the world. She would pick up a book in the morning and not stop reading until Hades came home in the evening, and sometimes she wouldn’t even notice him walking the house until he called out to her. She would forget to eat lunch, she would forget to go to the bathroom, she would forget everything. She had taken to setting an alarm so she could remember to get dinner started. That day, however, it was not an alarm that interrupted her, or Hades coming home. She was snapped back to reality by the startled voice of someone she thought she would never see again.

“Holy shit!” Persephone jumped at the sound, and saw Minthe standing in the doorway of the library, looking like she had seen a ghost.

“Sweet Gaia!” screeched Persephone. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, her heart still racing from the fright.

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?” hissed Minthe, also still clearly shocked. “Didn’t you run away or some shit?” Realization dawned Minthe’s face. “Right, I should have fucking guessed.”

“Okay, seriously, what are you doing here?” repeated Persephone, both panicked and annoyed.

“You know what? Leaving” said Minthe. “This was a terrible fucking idea.” She turned and walked out of the library, but called back down the hall at her. “I don’t worry, I won’t be around very much longer anyway.” The last sentence had fear grip Persephone’s heart in a different way. As much as she didn’t like Minthe, that sentence implied something she didn’t want to happen to anyone.

“Minthe, wait!” she called, and then bolted out of the library. Minthe was about halfway down the hall. She didn’t turn around but she did at least stop. “Please, tell me why you’re here. Maybe I can help?” Minthe sighed impatiently but she turned around this time. Her face looked like a strange mixture of apprehension and annoyance. 

“You can’t help because I’m here to talk to Hades so I can….” she paused and took a breath. Some of the irritation fell from her face, and for the first time, Persephone felt like she was talking to a real person. “So I can apologize” she finished. “And not like all my other apologies, like actually apologize. I was going to wait until he got home from work, but then I kind of chickened out so I decided to find a pen and paper so I could leave him a note, but now I feel like the entire thing was just stupid and I should just go.” She seemed to be getting ramped up again, so Persephone interjected. 

“And when you said you won’t be here much longer…?” she asked.

“You can relax” said Minthe, clearly getting at Persephone’s concern. “I just mean I’m leaving the Underworld. I’m moving… to the Mortal Realm.”

“Oh” said Persephone, happy her fears had been dissuaded, but not entirely sure of what to say next. “Um, good for you?” she offered. 

“Oh, don’t pretend like you’re not thrilled to see the back of me” scoffed Minthe. There was something else in her voice though, a sort of sadness that Persephone couldn’t un-hear. If she didn’t say anything right now, Minthe would leave, and she would be out of their lives for good. It was so tempting, to just let her walk away. Something was nagging at Persephone though. Maybe it was what Hera had said about her being a good person. Maybe it was the guilt from the role she had played in Minthe and Hades’ breakup, as much as Hades assured her she had nothing to do with it. Maybe it was the guilt of the nightmare she had just had. Maybe she would kick herself for doing this, but she just couldn’t let Minth walk away. 

“You know, Hades should be home in about an hour, why don’t you wait here for him?” she offered. “I could make you a cup of tea, and you and I could, you know, talk or something.”

“And I would I want to have a conversation with the bitch who stole my fucking boyfriend?” spat Minthe. And there it was, so much for being nice. “Wait, no, I’m sorry.” Persephone nearly fell over to hear those words come out of Minthe’s mouth. She looked at the nymph with a totally shocked expression. “You didn’t steal him, I practically shoved him into your arms.”

“No offense, Minthe, but that’s a little out of character for you” said Persephone, hoping she didn’t just put her foot in her mouth.

“Yeah well” said Minthe, looking embarrassed. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I’ve been really working hard on myself lately. Going to therapy, taking care of myself, other self-improvement bullcrap.” Persephone was not sure calling it ‘bullcrap’ was the most conducive thing, but she decided not to push it. “I’ll take that tea, actually… if you’re still offering” said Minthe quietly. Persephone smiled triumphantly, and the two of them headed down to the kitchen.

They didn’t talk at all while Persephone made the tea. Minthe sat at the kitchen table, refusing to look at her. She looked so uncomfortable, tapping her fingers on the table, looking anywhere but at Persephone, an almost pained expression on her face. This was clearly really hard for her, and Persephone didn’t want to make it any harder than it had to be. Once the tea was made she went and sat at the table with Minthe.

“So, the Mortal Realm, huh?” said Persephone eventually, not being able to stand the silence. 

“Yup” said Minthe. She took a sip of her tea, and Persephone did the same. “I just need a fresh start, there are too many bad memories here. And since I don’t have a hope in Tartarus of finding a job in Olympus, the Mortal Realm is basically my only choice.”

“Aren’t you friends with Zeus’ personal assistant?” asked Persephone. “Couldn’t she get you a job there maybe?” Minthe shook her head. 

“I burned that bridge months ago” said Minthe. “And before you ask, salt water does not agree with me.” Persephone nodded for lack of anything else to say. They sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes, and then finally Minthe spoke. “Did you ever tell Hades about how you got to Tower 4?” she asked.

“No” replied Persephone. Minthe looked confused.

“Why not?” she asked, her tone almost offended. “You could have totally used that against me. Probably gotten Hades to break up with me even sooner, or got me outright fired. Why didn’t you?”

“I could have, I guess” said Persephone, turning around her reasoning in her head. “And there was part of me that wanted to but… There was such malice in me when I thought about doing that. It felt… _poisonous_. That’s just not me.” Her explanation had done nothing to appease Minthe, who was looking at her like she had four heads.

“I don’t fucking get you” said Minthe, her tone putting Persephone on the defensive. “How can you sit here and have a conversation with someone who actively tried to destroy you and the person you love?” She paused. “You do love him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do” said Persephone without thinking. 

“Then fucking explain to me, because I do not understand” said Minthe. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like you, and I certainly don’t like the things you’ve done” snapped Persephone. Minthe looked taken aback, and almost impressed at Persephone’s harsh tone. Persephone, however, took a deep breath after that and calmed herself slightly. “What happened during your relationship is between you and Hades. And as for what you did to me, well, it was clear you were in a dark place back then and probably acting from a place of insecurity so-”

“Gods, you’re infuriating!” screamed Minthe, and she shot out of her chair. She turned away from Persephone, running her hands through her hair. When she turned back to Persephone she was so enraged she almost looked unhinged. “Do you have any idea what I did to him?!” Persephone tried to stay calm. With Minthe it in this state it wouldn’t have helped anything if Persephone got mad too. She knew this, logically, but it was still a job to keep herself calm.

“Tis told me about the incident in Tower 3” she said calmly. This had been months ago, back before she had left. Hearing about it had hurt so much, but she didn’t dare do anything about it until Hades brought it up to her himself.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg” spat Minthe. “We’re talking years of emotional, mental, and physical abuse!” _Stay calm._ “I mean, he did used to get his rocks off from me calling him a piece of shit, but I think we both knew that wasn’t healthy.” _*Internal screaming*_. “I used emotional blackmail in order to get him to buy me stuff!” _Don’t, don’t let her get to you_. “I would constantly remind him that I was the only person who could ever be with him because nobody else could stand to be around him! And every time he tried to get better I would dig my claws into him and drag him back down, because I knew he would never be with me unless he was a fucked up mess, so I made sure he stayed a fucked up mess!” _Oh, this bitch is dead!_ “There! Finally!” yelled Minthe, and Persephone realized that red vines had started growing in with her hair. “Get mad! Yell! Scream! Anything to make me feel better!”

“No!” yelled Persephone, standing. She was angry, but not for the reason Minthe wanted her to be. “I’m not going to sink down to your level just to make you feel better about yourself!” Minthe looked taken aback, as if she expected to be yelled at but not like this. “Like seriously, are you just saying all this shit to get a rise out of me?!” continued Persephone. She screwed up her voice to be deeper. “‘Oh, look at me, I’m Minthe, I’m broken and I’m a piece of shit and that’s why I’m a bitch to everybody!’ That’s what you sound like!” Minthe had the oddest expression on her face. She was shocked, but also somewhat… no… impressed?

“You’re right” said Minthe, suddenly calm. She sat back down at the table, but Persephone wasn’t ready to yet. “That exactly is how I manipulate people. And then when they blow up at me, I get this sense of satisfaction because I may be shit, but at least now they’re no better than me.” Persephone stared at her in silence for a few moments. "I'm sorry" said Minthe. Still a little unsure, Persephone sat slowly back down in her chair. Minthe started staring out into the backyard, and Persephone was noticing tears start to pool in her eyes. “This is going to sound really weird” Minthe said finally, “but I kind of wish I was a tree.”

“Minthe, look who you’re talking to” said Persephone. Minthe smiled. “That’s not weird at all.”

“They’re just so sturdy and grounded…” said Minthe, sadly. “And c’mon, everybody loves trees. I’ve never really had that in my life… it would be nice.”

“Yeah, trees are nice, I guess” said Persephone, her tone light. There was something so strange about being around Minthe this vulnerable. “But I’d say you’re more like a weed.”

“Oh real nice” scoffed Minthe.

“No, no, let me explain” said Persephone, as she truly didn’t mean that as an insult. “Weeds get a bad rep, but they’re just plants in the wrong place. Technically a rose could be a weed if you didn’t want it in your garden.” Persephone’s explanation seemed to make Minthe feel a little better. “And maybe that’s where some of this pain is coming from, maybe you’re just trying to plant yourself in the wrong garden.”

“Exactly why I need to leave” said Minthe, but Persephone’s mind was still on plants.

“Maybe you’re more like an herb, people love herbs” continued Persephone, and Minthe gave her a half-hearted smile. “You would be cool and spicy, and maybe a little sweet if paired with the right ingredients.” Minthe rolled her eyes, but continued to smile. “The other thing about weeds is that they’re incredibly resilient. You plant them in one place and all of a sudden you turn around and they’ve taken over your entire garden! They can flourish anywhere!” Persephone considered Minthe for a moment. “You’re a river nymph, so I would plant you by the river. Your roots would stay grounded to the earth, but you could grow and flow wherever the river took you.” 

Minthe was looking at Persephone with the strangest look. It was filled with sadness, hope, and yearning. Persephone looked at her, confused.

“What…?” asked Persephone.

“Do it” said Minthe quietly yet resolutely.

“Do what?” asked Persephone, starting to get really nervous.

“Make me into that plant or herb or whatever” said Minthe, more intensely than before.

“What? No!” said Persephone, now extremely uncomfortable.

“Please, Persephone!” begged Minthe, leaning towards Persephone across the table, her hands clasped together, pleading. “I know I don’t deserve your mercy, but this is exactly what I need! I have fucked up my life so beyond repair, I just need a clean slate!”

“I would be making you disappear!” replied Persephone, not sure Minthe was totally understanding what she was asking for.

“No, you’d be giving me a fresh start” said Minthe. Persephone considered it for a moment, but then shook her head at the ridiculous notion.

“No, no, I wouldn’t even know how to do it” she said. “I mean, I did turn Hades into a tree one time by accident, but I have no idea how I did that, I just panicked! And obviously it wasn’t permanent.” Persephone looked back at Minthe. Gods, she looked desperate. At least she had recognized the things she had done wrong, that’s why she was here in the first place, to apologize. At least Persephone could respect the fact that she was trying to make things right. Why was there some tiny little piece of Persephone that felt for her? She didn’t want to feel for her, but she did. “Okay, fine!” said Persephone finally, and Minthe looked elated. “Just don’t get your hopes up, like I said, I have no idea how to do this” said Persephone, but Minthe didn’t seem to care. Persephone held out her arms for Minthe to take. Minthe wrapped her hands around Persephone’s forearms and Persephone did the same.

“Hey, before you do this, can I ask you something?” asked Minthe. “And I promise, I’m not trying to be a bitch, I’m just genuinely curious.” Persephone nodded. “Why are you doing this for me? I mean, why did you even offer me that cup of tea in the first place?” Persephone considered a moment, needing to answer the question for herself first. 

“A good friend recently told me that I have a special ability to always see the good in people” said Persephone. “So, for better or for worse Minthe, I see the good in you.” Minthe opened her mouth to reply but Persephone cut her off. “And before you say I’m too nice or something, yes, I am, and maybe that makes me a fool. But I would rather be too nice than too mean, too caring than not caring enough, and too forgiving than not at all.” Minthe smiled at Persephone, tears once again starting to pool in the nymphs eyes. Persephone stared at her in a way she hoped was comforting. She noticed that Minthe’s hair was starting to drip as well, something she was sure was a product of her being a river nymph. For the first time ever, Persephone felt a connection to her, and she thought that Minthe felt it too. Eventually Minthe shook her head, as if trying to shake the emotions off of her.

“Okay, do it” she said, her voice cracking a little. “Before either of us change our minds.”

“Okay” said Persephone, an encouraging smile on her face. “Here goes nothing!”

***

When Hades arrived home from work that day he was greeted by the strangest sight he had ever seen, and that was saying something. Sitting across from each other at his kitchen table sat Persephone and Minthe. They were holding each other by the forearm, both of them with smiles on their face. Hades arrived just in time to see Persephone’s eyes go pure white as she taped into her primal power. Her hair grew and flowed out behind her, as if being blown by an invisible wind. A pure white light started to emanate from her, and soon it encompassed both her and Minthe, getting so bright that Hades had to shield his eyes. When the light faded away and Hades could look again, Persephone was sitting alone at the table, and in the chair where Minthe had been was a plant with small green leaves.

“You’re home early” said Persephone casually when she saw him, as if nothing had just happened.

“Explain” demanded Hades, his brain spinning. 

“I know this is probably really confusing, but just give me one second” she said, getting up from her chair and heading over to the plant.

“Did you just turn my ex-girlfriend into a plant?” asked Hades, desperately trying to put the pieces together of what he just saw. He had a million questions he wanted to ask at once, and he was infuriated by how calm Persephone was acting. She picked up the plant and headed over to the kitchen.

“Technically I turned her into an herb” said Persephone, filling a glass with water and gently placing the Minthe plant in it, making sure the roots were well submerged. 

“That does not help!” said Hades, his stress levels beginning to rise. He did not like not knowing what was going on. Persephone then started walking towards the door, but as she passed Hades he grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked almost shocked to be stopped. “Where are you going?” he demanded.

“I need to plant her” said Persephone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She struggled against his grip, but Hades was not letting her go so easily. 

“No one is going anywhere until I get an explanation” said Hades.

“Well then come with me and I’ll explain on the way” she said. She tried to move again but again Hades would not let her go. “Please Hades, I promise I’ll explain but I need to get her roots into soil soon, and the stuff in the backyard just won’t cut it.”

“Are you forgetting that you’re not supposed to be leaving the house?” said Hades, wondering what in the four realms had come over her. Persephone sighed impatiently and then shoved the glass with Minthe in it towards him.

“Hold” she said, and he did. Then she transformed herself into a pink butterfly. “Can I leave the house now, Your Majesty?” she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice that nearly sent him.

“The sass? Not helping” he growled. 

“Sorry” she said, and continued to float in front of his face, clearly waiting for him. He didn’t like this, he didn’t like this at all, but finally, he gave in.

“Fine, get in the car” he said, and led the way to his car with her flying behind him. 

Persephone told Hades that she needed to be planted by a river, and Cocytus was the river closest to the house, so that’s where Hades drove. True to her word, Persephone told him the entire story as they drove, and Hades didn’t entirely know what to make of it. As she spoke about Minthe’s claim that she had been going to therapy and working on herself, Hades realized that actually made sense. He was starting to realize that the last time he had seen her had been six months ago when they ran into her in Tower 3. When Persephone was gone, Hades was at one of the lowest points he had been in a long time, and the old Minthe would have completely taken advantage of that. She would have snapped at that opportunity, and Hades was ashamed to admit that he probably would have gone crawling back to her in the state he was in. He was ashamed of a lot of things when it came to Minthe, and he especially hated that Persephone now knew some of those things.

When they arrived on the banks of Cocytus Persephone stayed in her butterfly form. She rested on Hades’ shoulder and gave him instructions on how to properly plant Minthe in the ground so she could flourish there. Once he was done, he took a moment to stare at the plant that had once been someone very important to his life. He tried to work out all the complicated emotions he was feeling, and all the while Persephone stayed silent, giving him the space she knew he needed.

“I suppose we should talk about some of the things Minthe said to you about… about her and I” said Hades, breaking the silence. Persephone had done her best to recount Minthe’s confessions exactly, his stomach turning into knots as he heard her sweet voice speak those words, reminding him of his shame. 

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to” said Persephone.

“The thing is…” started Hades, trying to put his thoughts into words. “I do want to talk to you about those things, I just…” He sighed. The words felt like they were sticking to his throat as they came out. “I have been alone for so many years, and I’m so used to dealing with things on my own… but I’m not alone anymore, and I love it, I love you, more than anything… but it still might take me some time to be able to talk about some of these things with you…”

“Take all the time you need” said Persephone tenderly, letting her wings brush up against his cheek, the true definition of butterfly kisses. “I will be here when you’re ready.” He wanted to hold her so badly, but he knew they had to wait until they got him. Instead, he continued to stare at the Minthe plant, and as he did, another thought occurred to him.

“No one is going to believe this” he said.

“How do you mean?” asked Persephone.

“If the media ever gets a hold of this they’re going to say you did this out of vengeance and jealousy” he said, thinking of how they were used to Hera’s motivations behind her dealings with Zeus’ lovers. “They’ll never believe what actually happened… I mean, I know you, and I’m still having trouble believing it.”

“That’s okay” said Persephone in the sweetest voice. “They can say whatever they want. Her and I will know the truth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously a very different interpretation of the myth. I remember a while ago reading an interpretation of the Athena/Medusa myth where Athena transforms Medusa into a gorgon as an act of mercy rather than vengeance and that really struck me so I wanted to do something like that here. Of course, this is only possible in this version because Minthe actually starts to address her toxic patterns. I have a feeling that this is not going to happen in the comics, but hey, that's what fanfiction is for.


	25. Chapter 25

While Hades certainly appreciated Persephone doing most of the cooking since she had moved in, he very much missed being in the kitchen. He loved cooking. It was a way for him to indulge a creative side that didn’t often see the light of day. This is exactly what he said to Persephone when he told her he had invited Hecate over for dinner, and Persephone seemed excited at the concept of being able to spend time with her friend without having to worry about preparing dinner.

It had been just over two months since Persephone had come to stay in the Underworld, and while Persephone wouldn’t say anything, Hades was starting to suspect that she was having trouble. She had gotten through most of the books in his library, which thoroughly impressed him, and had recently taken up knitting. He had to admit, he would probably also go stir crazy if he was left alone all day with nothing to do, but it was difficult watching her suffer because of him. Every time he tried to bring it up she shrugged it off, saying she wasn’t alone as long as she was with the pups, or that she had plenty to do and was learning lots, or simply stating that she loved being here. No matter what she said, Hades couldn’t help but think at least part of it was lip service, and it was starting to gnaw at him. This was part of why he had invited Hecate over, because while he knew she loved him, she would likely be welcome for company that wasn’t him.

That evening Hecate had brought her tarot deck with her, and once they were finished dinner Persephone insisted on a reading. While Hades didn’t take too much stock in things like that, Persephone was both delighted and fascinated with the idea. Hades was doing some tidying up in the kitchen after dinner as the two women sat at the kitchen table.

“What sort of reading do you want?” asked Hecate as she shuffled the deck.

“I’m not sure” replied Persephone. “Just a general one I guess.” Hecate smiled.

“Sure you don’t want a couples reading?” she threw over her shoulder at Hades.

“You know how I feel about tarot cards” he replied. 

“He thinks they’re notoriously inaccurate” said Hecate to Persephone. 

“No, I just think it’s easy to put too much faith in them” he called back to her.

“He says to the Goddess of Witchcraft” replied Hecate. “Actually he is right, you do need to be careful. The cards leave a lot of room for interpretation, one card can have many meanings.”

“How do you know what the right meaning is?” asked Persephone.

“I don’t” said Hecate. “But that’s all just part of the fun.” She handed Persephone the deck. “Now, the spread I want to do with you I picked up from my visit to the Celtic Pantheon, and it’s called the Celtic Cross, would you believe.” Persephone giggled. “It’s become one of my favourite general spreads as it covers pretty much everything to a degree. It does require a significator though.”

“What’s a significator?” asked Persephone. 

“It’s a card that represents you” replied Hecate. Hades had finished most of his tidying and had now moved on to making some after dinner coffees. Hecate offered Persephone a selection of cards she had plucked from the deck, and Persephone picked one out to look at it.

“The Queen of Swords” said Persephone, reading from the card.

“Interesting” said Hecate. Hecate placed the unpicked cards back in the deck and began to shuffle again. “Now, many people don’t like the Queen of Swords, they think she’s severe, unmerciful, and scarcely a symbol of power.”

“Oh Gaia” said Persephone, looking nervous.

“Oh, but not me” said Hecate. “Her left hand, her receiving hand, is stretched out and open, ready for change, which is what swords are all about. Her sword is pointed to the sky, not in an attack position, but she is ready to use it if need be. Finally, look at her throne and her crown.” Persephone brought the card closer to her eyes. 

“Butterflies!” exclaimed Persephone, a smile on her face. Hades came over then with their coffees, giving Persephone a quick kiss on the top of her head before he took his seat. Despite his feelings about tarot in general, he was still curious about this reading. 

“Transformation and beauty” said Hecate. “Yes, I think the Queen of Swords fits you nicely.” Persephone handed Hecate back the card and she placed it in the middle of the table. Hecate then handed Persephone the deck. “Now, shuffle your life into the cards.” Peresphone took the deck and shuffled. “Now cut the deck, and hand it back to me with the top of the deck facing me.” She did, and Hecate began to place the cards face down in a formation around the Queen of Swords. 

The first card she started with was placed directly across the Queen. “This card here represents the current challenge you’re facing” said Hecate. She flipped the card over to reveal the Empress, sitting upon her glorious throne. Hecate picked up the card so she could take a closer look. “Interesting” she mused again. “The Empress represents abundance and fertility. Here, look.” She handed Persephone the card. “She’s the picture of divine femininity, with her crown of stars and the actual female symbol sitting next to her. She sits among a field of healthy wheat, ready for harvest, and if you look closely, you’ll notice she’s also with child.” Persephone placed the card back down where it was, across the Queen of Swords. “Now, the fact that she’s in the challenge position is very interesting, she doesn’t normally end up there. This could be an indication of the conflict you’re currently in with your mother. Being the Goddess of the Harvest and a fertility goddess herself she could easily be represented by the Empress. Or, this could be a conflict surrounding your own fertility powers.”

“What do you mean?” asked Persephone. “I mean, at this point I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I’m a fertility goddess.”

“Pretty much?” questioned Hecate, making Persephone blush. “Look, accepting one’s powers can be a long journey under the best of circumstances. This part of you was actively repressed, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s still some conflict around that.”

“You may be right” mumbled Persephone. She was starting to look uncomfortable, and Hades remembered another reason why he didn’t like tarot. Hecate’s readings often revealed truths that people often much preferred to remain hidden. “Actually, now that I think about it, it’s probably both, about my mother and about me.”

“I would say you are correct, but let’s see” said Hecate. She pointed to the card below the Queen of Swords now. “This card will reveal the actual root of this problem, what’s really going on under the surface.” She flipped the card to reveal the Chariot, but it was upside down. Hades didn’t need to know much about the cards to know that upside down could not be good. “Ooh, the Chariot! This is a nice card” said Hecate. Once again, Persephone picked up the card so she could take a closer look. “On the surface, the Chariot represents travel, and seeing as you did take a trip recently, I’m not surprised to see it show up in this reading.”

“So the root of my problem is travel?” asked Persephone, looking a little suspiciously at Hades.

“What else does the card mean Hecate?” asked Hades pointedly, not liking these implications. Hecate chuckled, and then continued.

“The Chariot also represents willpower, and the ability to take action” she said. “Look at that guy, he is not letting anyone stop him from heading into battle. He wears a crown of stars, like our Empress, representing divine power. There’s a square on his tunic, the square in sacred geometry representing our reality, and therefore the ability to action in this reality. The other thing I love about this card are the sphinxs. One is black, the other is white, and if you look closely, you’ll notice they’re pointed in slightly different directions. It was with sheer willpower that our warrior is able to move this chariot forward.”

“But the card was upside down” said Persephone.

“Right you are” replied Hecate. “The root of the problem here is that you have yet to actually tap into your willpower, meaning you can't take action for what you really want.” Once again, Persephone was starting to look uncomfortable. “Hey, if you wanted fluff I would have pulled out my oracle cards. With tarot, sometimes you read the cards, but more often than not, the cards read you.”

“No, no, you’re right” said Persephone. “I did ask for this… and it is super interesting… even if it does kind of feel like a call out.” Persephone replaced the Chariot to its spot.

“It always does” said Hecate, flipping the next card, to the left of the Queen of Swords. It was the eight of swords. “Ah now this makes sense, this card is all about your recent past” said Hecate. “Bound, blindfolded, and surrounded by swords.”

“Yeah, that seems about right” said Persephone, picking up the card.

“I want you to notice that there’s nothing in front of her though, just a little bit of water” said Hecate. “She could move forward at any time, with nothing stopping her. The bonds that hold her back are merely an illusion.”

“That makes a lot of sense” said Persephone, putting the card back. “I mean, in theory I could have left at any time, but I chose to stay, chose to remain bound.”

“And that brings us to the present” said Hecate, flipping over the card placed above the Queen of Swords, the revealed card making Persephone’s eyes go wide.

“Death?” asked Persephone with a slightly panicked voice, looking at the skeletal rider on the card. 

“Calm down, it doesn’t actually mean death” said Hecate, and Persephone relaxed. Hades knew the meaning of the card, as Hecate spoke about it often enough, and was not surprised to see it. “Death is actually my favourite card in the deck, and not just because of this bundle of fun right here” she said, clapping a hand on Hades’ shoulder and giving him an affectionate shake. Hades’ rolled his eyes, figuring this was not the appropriate time to remind her that he was the God of the Dead, not the God of Death. “The Death card is actually the most powerful transformative card in the deck. It represents the ending of the old and the beginning of something new. Having this card in the present position means your life is in the middle of transforming, your old reality gone, and your new reality coming into place.”

“Okay, yes, this is making so much sense” said Persephone, starting to perk up again. “Is there a card in the deck that represents actual death then?” she asked.

“Yes, I’ll show it to you after, and you’ll see why” said Hecate. She flipped the next card, right of the Queen, and now it was her time for her eyes to go wide. “Or I’ll show it to you right now.” The card Hecate had flipped was the ten of swords, the picture on the card showed a man lying face down with ten swords sticking out of his back. 

“Yeah, he looks pretty dead” said Persephone, her voice even higher pitched than normal. Hades tried to remind himself that he didn’t necessarily believe in all this, but even he was starting to get nervous at the sight of that card. “What does this placement represent?”

“Your near future” said Hecate, clearly nervous. 

“So there’s going to be death in my near future?” exclaimed Persephone

“I mean, you are in the Underworld, surrounded by dead people, maybe-” started Hecate.

“You know that’s not what this means” said Persephone, cutting her off. Hecate smiled nervously.

“Yeah, no, that’s not it” she admitted. “Now, to be fair, this card doesn’t always mean death in the literal sense, although it can” she continued. “It could also represent the death of a situation. Whatever it is, we know that it is about to be very over. Unlike the Death card, when the ten of swords pops up there is no guarantee of transformation or even resolution. The only thing we know for sure is that it will be done.” Persephone’s head was in her hands now. Hades rubbed her shoulder lovingly, why did he let Hecate do this?

“Can you flip the next card?” asked Persephone, lifting her head. “And hopefully it’s something happy and fun.” Hecate now moved to a line of four cards that were next to original formation. She flipped over the card that was at the bottom of the line to reveal the Lovers. “Oh, that looks good!” said Persephone excitedly. She picked up the card. “Look at how happy these guys look! This has to be good!”

“This placement represents your fears” said Hecate, shattering Persephone’s brief happiness. 

“Of course it does” said Persephone placing the card back. Hecate chuckled again, and the only reason Hades wasn’t in the same boat as Persephone right now is that he could see how relaxed Hecate was.

“It’s not that bad, trust me” said Hecate. “The Lovers indicate the choice between two loves. The fact that it’s here representing your fears tells me you’re afraid you’re going to have to choose between two things, or people, you love. Maybe your mother and this big blue idiot over here?” Hades shot Hecate a look, who just smiled in response. Persephone on the other hand was blushing, still staring at the card. 

“But… but I made my choice, didn’t I?” she said, almost asking a question.

“You know I love you little one, but did you?” said Hecate. Somehow Persephone’s blush deepened, and she hunched her shoulders a little. “I mean, Hades sure made a choice, and yes, I suppose did choose to go along with it, but in the beginning, you weren’t the one who made that choice, were you?” Persephone gave a bashful smile. Hecate was right, and Persephone didn’t want to admit it. “Furthermore, you’re hiding out here while your mother is still out there searching for you. From where I’m sitting, it kind of seems like you’re avoiding making a choice.”

“I don’t like this anymore” said Persephone, pouting.

“I was just thinking the same thing” said Hades.

“Oh relax you two” said Hecate, dismissively. “This card” she pointed to the Lovers, “and this card” she pointed to the Chariot, “are very often connected. You’re afraid to make this choice because you think this is all about other people, but it’s not, it’s really all about you. You see, once you tap into your willpower, you won’t be afraid anymore.” Persephone nodded, but Hades couldn’t tell if she was agreeing or just processing. “Let’s take a look at how your friends and family feel about all this” continued Hecate, and flipped the card just about the Lovers. “Oh look, the five of cups.” Persephone picked up the card.

“He looks so sad” she said upon reflection.

“I wouldn’t feel too bad for him” commented Hecate. “My nickname for the five of cups is the ‘crying over spilt milk’ card.” Persephone let out a small giggle. “First off, cups are all about our emotions. If we look at buddy on this card, you’ll see he’s all sulking and brooding because three of his cups fell over and the wine got knocked out. But, if he just turned around, he would see he still has two full cups of wine. The five of cups reminds us not to dwell on what we’ve lost, but instead to appreciate what we have.” Persephone put the card back in its place.

“Well if mama’s still out there looking for me, I can see how she could be dwelling like that” said Persephone. 

“Let’s check out your hopes for this situation” said Hecate, flipping the card above the five of cups to reveal the four of wands. 

“That card looks really nice, please don’t tell me it’s going to secretly make me sad” said Persephone.

“No, this card represents how you hope the situation will turn out, and it looks like you hope it will turn out great” said Hecate.

“Well duh” replied Persephone. Hecate shook her head and then continued.

“First off, wands are all about growth” said Hecate. Persephone picked up the card, a smile on her face.

“They kind of look like they’re at a wedding” said Persephone, looking fondly at the card. Her words made Hades' heart skip a beat. Persephone didn’t seem to notice, but Hecate clearly did, giving him a knowing smile.

“That is often how this card is interpreted, but that’s not it’s only meaning” said Hecate. “You’ve the couple celebrating under the canopy of flowers foreground, and another group of people, maybe their friends and family, celebrating in the background. In addition to celebration, this card can represent joy, relaxation, and even homecoming.”

“Well that all sounds great, sign me up” said Persephone, placing the card back triumphantly. 

“Hold your horse there, we’ve still got one more card” said Hecate. “Let’s see what the actual outcome of this is going to be.” Hecate flipped the final card and her face fell, and Hades knew exactly why. The last card was the Tower. “Oh boy” breathed Hecate.

“That doesn’t look good” said Persephone, Hades unsure if she was talking about the card or Hecate’s reaction or both. 

“I’m going to level with you here, it’s not the best omen” said Hecate. Persephone slowly picked up the card. “The Tower represents change, specifically through chaos.”

“I’ll say” said Persephone, looking at the card. “Lightening, fire, people falling to their deaths? There’s a lot to take in here.”

“This whole spread has a lot of change going on” said Hecate. “The fact that we’re ending with the Tower tells me this is going to end chaotic, and possibly violent.” Persephone was staring at the card in her hand. She seemed almost fixated by it, her mind didn’t seem to be here. Hades was starting to get concerned, he reached out a hand to touch her but before he could she was shocked back to reality by the sound of Cerberus scratching at the back door.

“Sorry” she said, realizing she had been silent. She looked back at Cerbereus who, along with Mushroom, Big John, and Fudge, was looking to go outside. “You know, the pups have been so patient during dinner, maybe I’ll throw the ball with them out in the backyard. I could use the fresh air.” She got up, grabbed a sweater that was by the door, and went outside with the dogs. As soon as the back door was closed, Hades turned to Hecate.

“Stop freaking her out” he said, but Hecate wasn’t looking at him, she was looking at the cards.

“You think _she’s_ freaking out” said Hecate. She picked up the Tower. “You know how I feel when this card shows up.”

“And you know how I feel about tarot in general” hissed Hades.

“Oh come on, even you can’t be this blind” she shot at him, and he hated to admit she was right. “I mean, look at this spread! The amount of Major Arcana alone is giving a freaking anxiety attack.”

“Okay, Persephone is having enough trouble sleeping as it is” admitted Hades. “I don’t want her worried about this.”

“Maybe she should be worried” said Hecate. “And I didn’t even tell her that this card” she pointed to the five of cups, friends and family, “and this card” she pointed to the ten of swords, near future, “ are usually connected.” Hades' stomach turned. He knew where Hecate was going with this, and he wished, in vain, that she wouldn’t say it. “The results of Demeter’s absence are already showing up on the beach, if these cards are any indication, it’s about to get a lot worse.”

“Zeus and I have been keeping a close eye on the situation” said Hades. “We’ve been discussing potential plans.”

“Have you?” asked Hecate, clearly not convinced. “Because it kind of seems like you’ve been making things up as you go along.” Hades was not impressed at her words, but he didn’t get a chance to answer as Persephone came back into the house.

“I’m back” she called cheerily, any evidence of her previous freak out totally gone. She came back over to the kitchen table and Hecate started to clean up her cards. “Well that was fun” said Persephone, although Hades might have chosen another word. “Thank you so much for that Hecate.”

“Anytime” replied Hecate. “Hey, different topic,” she started. _Thank Gods_. “How are your illusions coming? You mentioned you can do mortal disguises, have you gotten the hang of anything else?”

“Not yet” said Persephone.

“I could teach you if you want” offered Hecate. “Might give you a few more options for leaving the house if you don’t look like yourself.” Persephone’s face stretched into a wide smile.

“I would love that” she replied, excited. Hades smiled, glad she had something to look forward to. Also, if she was able to leave the house, that may help in lifting her spirits even further. 

“Great” said Hecate. She pulled out her phone to check the time. “I should probably get going. Thank you so much for dinner.”

“Our pleasure” said Hades. The three of them got up to walk Hecate to the door. Before she left she turned to each of them to say goodbye.

“Persephone, we’ll work out a time to start training” she said, and then turning to Hades, “See you at work tomorrow.”

“See you at work.”

“Bye Hecate!”

Once she was gone, Hades couldn’t help but think about what she had said. She was right, he was encountering more and more deaths from starvation during Judgments. Currently, the amounts were not overly concerning, but if things kept going the way they were, those numbers were sure to change.

“Are you alright?” asked Persephone. Hades realized suddenly that he hadn’t moved, and in fact had been staring at the door. She had floated up to him and was rubbing his shoulder comfortingly.

“Of course, Sweetness” he said. He caught her hand from his shoulder and brought it to his lips to lay a gentle kiss there. “Everything is perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA to my fellow tarot card readers: I thought this chapter was a good idea at the time, but reverse engineering a reading gave me such a headache! My card did NOT like working in reverse. 
> 
> All descriptions used are based on the Rider-Waite tarot deck.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning is a bit nsfw

Hades was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling with Persephone fast asleep next to him. He was feeling quite satisfied with himself, and each soft snore he heard come from his sleeping goddess made feel another jolt of pride. Persephone’s troubles with sleep had been persisting, and Hades was getting more and more worried, no matter how hard she had tried to play them off. He had hoped that beginning to work with Hecate would help, so she could start to delve in and really utilize some of her powers. Perhaps this new exploration was the reason he came home after work that evening to an insatiable fertility goddess in all her glory.

It started when she basically ambushed him when he walked in the door, pushing him up against the wall, pulling down his pants, and blowing him right then and there. As surprised as he was he did not object, letting her mouth send shockwaves of sensation through him making his knees almost give out when she made him climax. What surprised him even more was her reaction when she was done, which was to send him off to walk the dogs so she could finish cooking dinner. As confused as he was, he did as she asked, and she gave him a suggestive wink as he left the house.

When he returned with the dogs he did indeed find Persephone in the kitchen, cooking, but unlike before she was wearing nothing except a frilly apron that looked like it had more use in the bedroom than in the kitchen. He did what any reasonable man would do in this situation, which was to lift her onto the counter and fuck her until she screamed. 

Dinner was one of the quietest meals that had had together in a long time, seeing as Persephone spent the majority of it with her foot under the table teasing Hades relentlessly. Once they were done, Persephone cleared their plates and started to hand wash the dishes that needed that. Hades wasn’t letting her get away so easy though, not after what she had done while they ate. By now he had caught up to what was going on, and was delighted to be playing this game. He also figured this was a very good opportunity for him to do his best to wear her out this evening, so that she might get some good sleep that night. 

He came over to her as she stood next to the sink, and told her no matter what he did to keep washing the dishes. He maneuvered himself so he was sitting on the ground, his back resting on the counter, with Persephone standing over him. Then, as she continued doing the dishes, he indulged in the sweet nectar that was dripping between her thighs. Concentrating on the task at hand while simultaneously getting pleasured was driving her wild, and the noises she made as she tried desperately to maintain some control were only fueling him. He was rather impressed though, she only broke one glass, which she dropped in the sink when she finally came. 

She had barely recovered before she joined him on the ground, and rode him on the kitchen floor.

Then they moved to the living room couch.

After that, he suggested the move up stairs, but didn’t make it all the way up before her hands were on him again.

Next she dragged him into his home office, shoving him into his office chair before she climbed back on top of him.

It was starting to get late, and Hades wanted to shower before bed, but what’s a shower without shower sex?

Finally, they actually did make it to bed, but it took three more rounds before Persephone rolled over, unable to fight sleep any longer.

Now Hades was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, feeling mighty proud if he did say so himself. Sleep was doing it’s best to take him as well, and that much fucking had admittedly taken a lot out of him. He closed his eyes and started to drift into the sweet darkness.

His phone buzzed, the sound of the vibration against the hard surface of his nightstand piercing the night. His head immediately shot to Persephone, who thankfully had not stirred. He grabbed his phone, meaning to put it on “Do Not Disturb”, but he checked the message.

**Zeus: Need to talk, I’ve got updates.**

**Hades: Can’t this wait until morning?**

**Zeus: Too late, we’re downstairs.**

Hades let his head fall back onto the pillow, grumbling. For a moment he thought about just not getting up, but then Zeus would come upstairs looking for him. He loved his brother, but boundaries were not his strong suit, and he didn’t want him a) waking up Persephone and b) seeing her in her current state of undress. He sighed heavily, carefully got out of bed, threw on whatever clothes he could get his hands on, and headed downstairs.

As he headed down he could hear more than one voice talking, and realized Zeus had said ‘we’ in his text. When he got to the kitchen he was greeted by both Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus was sitting in one of the stools at the kitchen island and Poseidon was rifling through the fridge. 

“Can you two please keep it down?” Hades hissed as he approached. “Persephone is sleeping, and I really don’t want her to wake.” 

“Why? Don’t want her to know we’re here?” asked Zeus bitterly.

“That, and I have finally successfully fucked her into a coma” replied Hades. He didn’t mean to be so crass, in fact he hated discussing anything of that nature with his brothers, but he was so tired that the words slipped out without him realizing.

“Aw, your little fertility goddess wearing you out?” Zeus teased. Hades didn’t answer, he just glared. Zeus let out a chuckle in response. “Well, at least we know you’re not suffering.”

“Do you have any soft butter?” asked Poseidon, his nose now in one of the cupboards. He pulled out a loaf of sandwich bread.

“What are you even doing?” asked Hades, exasperated. Why was Poseidon always going through his kitchen when he came.

“Obviously I’m making us brunch” he responded.

“How can it be brunch when it’s” Hades peeked at the clock on the oven, “2:34 in the morning?”

“Well we’re past midnight, so it’s not a midnight snack” replied Poseidon. “Butter?” he asked again.

“In the butter bell on the counter” said Hades, giving up. 

“Normally when I eat this late I call it ‘Drunk Food Extravaganza’, but none of us are drunk” continued Poseidon, still clearly trying to find a name for their 2:34am meal.

“Normally when I eat this late I call a depression meal” grumbled Hades, only half joking with his classic brand of dark humour.

“No, depression meal is when you’re shoving shredded cheese into your mouth like some sort of primordial creature by the cold light of the refrigerator desperately trying not to wake up your family” said Zeus, entirely deadpan. The other two stared at him. “What?”

“That was oddly specific” said Hades, his tone cautious.

“Lay off, you’re not the only one with baggage” complained Zeus.

“You know what? I’m going to call it ‘Dark Lunch’” said Poseidon. “Who wants a grilled cheese for Dark Lunch?”

“So why are you here?” asked Hades, ignoring Poseidon’s question, knowing he would make him a grilled cheese anyway.

“Well like I said, I have updates” said Zeus.

“And we couldn’t have done this, I don’t know, during normal business hours?” said Hades, very unimpressed at this intrusion.

“I thought our meetings were getting a little formal, and what could be more casual than your kitchen at 2:30 in the morning?” said Zeus cheerily, causing Hades to shake his head in frustration.

“I’m just along for the ride” admitted Poseidon. “I also just miss you dude, we’ve barely seen you these last months.”

“Well you can’t really blame him for that” replied Zeus, and as if on cue, a call came from upstairs.

“Hades” came the sensual, languid call of Persephone from upstairs. Zeus perked up, clearly amused by the tone of her voice. Hades sighed in defeat.

“Yes my love?” he called back.

“I woke up and you weren’t here” she said, her voice soft and teasing, just as it had been before they had gone to bed. 

“My apologies Sweetness, but we unfortunately have guests” he said. In truth, he would much rather rush upstairs, leap back into bed with her, and have her murmur her sweet words in his ear. But his brothers were here, and he didn’t want Persephone to be embarrassed, or garner any unwanted attention. 

“Does that mean I have to put clothes on?” she asked, her voice still dripping with sensuality. Zeus was grinning from ear to ear now.

“You don’t have to put clothes on for our sake, we don’t mind” called Zeus. Hades shot him a warning look, but after a long pause from upstairs, it appeared his comment did the trick.

“Yeah, I’m putting clothes on” she said curtly, any gentleness gone.

“Good call” Hades replied.

“Was it something I said?” asked Zeus innocently. Hades glowered at him, as he knew Zeus knew exactly what he was doing. Poseidon rolled his eyes at him as well.

“It’s always something you say” said Poseidon. Persephone came down the stairs then in a red plaid pajama set that rarely got worn. She immediately went over to Hades and wrapped her arms around his waist. He responded by wrapping his arms around her as well. “Hey Perse, you want a grilled cheese?” asked Poseidon.

“For sure” said Persephone. “Hey, grab some of the smoked gouda that’s in the back of the cheese drawer.”

“Ooh, good call” said Poseidon, opening the fridge again. “By the way, I brought those books you asked me for.”

“Thank you” said Persephone, but Hades was confused.

“When did you ask him for books?” asked Hades.

“We text” replied Persephone nonchalantly, but Hades was having trouble wrapping his head around Persephone having any type of relationship with either of his brothers outside of him.

“Oh, that reminds me” said Zeus suddenly. “That copy of the Olympus/Underworld Peace Treaty is on the coffee table for you, plus some other book that Hera recommended.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Persephone, letting go of Hades to check out the book. Hades was now entirely bewildered.

“I don’t know what you want with it though, it’s dull reading” said Zeus. “I can barely get through it, and I wrote half of it.”

“I have other concerns about why you would want that” Hades said. Hades couldn’t help but feel both curious and cautious about her apparent interest in the inner workings of the kingdoms. Persephone merely smiled at him innocently.

“Tell Hera thank you too, I am very much looking forward to giving this a read” said Persephone. She walked back over to them. “Now, I have to ask, is it normal for you two to show up in the middle of the night? I just want to manage expectations.”

“No, no it’s not” said Hades firmly. 

“Although do end up here more often than houses” said Zeus, looking to Poseidon. 

“That’s because you and I have wives” said Poseidon, sliding two plates with grilled cheese on them on the kitchen island. “Also, Amphitrite nearly shot you with a harpoon gun the last time we showed up wasted.” He grabbed the other two plates and placed them on the island as Zeus chuckled nostalgically as Hades shook his head. “Guess we’ll need to find a new bachelor pad to crash at, since this is no longer a bachelor pad” commented Poseidon.

“Ugh, your happiness is ruining our lives” Zeus complained dramatically.

“You say that as if I should care” Hades replied, earning him a glare from Zeus, a chortle from Poseidon, and a peck on the cheek from his love.

“Alright then, let’s get down to brass tax, shall we?” said Zeus. “As I said, I have updates.” Hades turned to Persephone.

“Why don’t head back to bed? I’ll be up in a little bit” he said. He didn’t know what Zeus would have to say, but he didn’t want her worried if she didn’t need to be.

“No” she said. She looked determined, but also confused that he would even ask her that in the first place. She turned to Zeus. “This is about my mother, right? I want to hear.” Zeus looked at Hades. Hades had not hid from him his desire to keep Persephone out of this, but he knew that look on her, there would be changing her mind. He nodded at Zeus.

“Well Demeter still hasn’t returned, that much I’m sure you already know” Zeus started. Hades nodded. He knew Persephone knew her mother was still out there looking for her, but H hadn’t told her that the deaths due to starvation were steadily climbing because of this. Without Demeter doing her job, crops were dying and food was running low. “Crops have been dying, temperature's been dropping and… it snowed today.”

“Snowed?” repeated Persephone in disbelief. “No, it’s too warm in the mortal realm for it to snow.”

“Not anymore” said Zeus. “I’ve got a feeling Boreas is behind this, I’m headed up to have word with him tomorrow. Hopefully we can get this sorted out.” A guilty look crossed Persephone’s face, and this is exactly what Hades had been afraid of. 

“This is all my fault” she said quietly, looking down.

“No Sweetness, this isn’t your fault” said Hades gently, attempting to reassure her. She gave him a half-hearted smile.

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think this is that bad” said Zeus. Persephone looked at him confused. “Other pantheons have to deal with winter, our mortals have just been spoiled up until now.”

“But they're not prepared” replied Persephone. “If she doesn’t come back soon-”

“Stop” said Zeus, and Hades recognized the voice. It was one of the rare moments where Zeus was actually being genuine. “You’re starting to spiral, and that’s going to nothing but stress you out, trust me.” The sad look hadn’t left her face, but she nodded at him in acknowledgement. “Hades and I are powerful gods, and we’re taking care of this. You don’t need to worry about it, little lady.” Persephone suddenly looked confused and a little offended, and Hades could guess why. Poseidon was the first comment.

“Okay, I know you meant well, but that was real sexist” said Poseidon. 

“What? No it wasn’t” said Zeus defensively. 

“You told me to sit back and let the men handle it” said Persephone.

“Not because you’re a woman, because we’re kings” said Zeus. Hades was enjoying watching Zeus trying to backpedal on this, and loved Persephone even more for standing her own with him.

“You called her ‘little lady’” said Poseidon. “You have to know that’s not okay.”

“Okay, I don’t need to take this!” exclaimed Zeus, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. Hades laughed, but then turned to Persephone.

“While phrased poorly, he does have a point” said Hades to Persephone. “We’ve got everything under control, there’s no need for you to be worried.” Persephone looked at him, not entirely convinced, but eventually she nodded. 

“Just promise you’ll let me know if things get out of hand” she said. She sounded so heartbroken, Hades couldn’t help himself.

“I promise” he said. She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her, wishing holding her could protect her from all of this. He hated that she thought this was her fault, when it was really his. Their tender moment was interrupted by Zeus leaning towards Hades, seeming to be regarding Hades’ sweater with suspicion. He reached out and pinched the sleeve, and it was only Hades realized what sweater he had grabbed in his haste to get downstairs. It was the one Persephone had knitted him. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen this sweater before” commented Zeus. “It’s really nice.”

“Thank you” said Persephone, her voice muffled as she was tucked into Hades’ chest. Realization dawned on Zeus’ face.

“Wait, Persephone, did you knit this?” he asked, way more excited than he should be. Poseidon than came over to take a look at the sweater, making Hades very uncomfortable. It was a simple design, but it fit him well, made out of midnight blue merino wool, so it was very soft and warm, like her. 

“Yup, I picked up knitting a little while ago” said Persephone, leaning back so she was no longer tucked in but still not leaving Hades’ arms.

“Ooh, I want one” said Poseidon. Zeus’ eyes lit up.

“Forgive me if this is too much to ask, but would you-?” started Zeus but he stopped talking when he noticed the expression of annoyance on Persepone’s face as she looked up at Hades.

“Hades, did you not give your brothers their sweaters?” she asked. Hades had intentionally left the sweaters at home every time he had seen his brothers since, mostly because he didn’t want to have to live through the two of them finding out they had matching sweaters.

“Must have slipped my mind” he said instead.

“Are you telling me you made us matching sweaters?” asked Poseidon, his face a mask of joy. Zeus had a huge smile plastered on his face as well.

“Yup” said Persephone proudly. “Poseidon, yours is in a deep green, and Zeus, yours is deep purple.”

“My dearest Persephone, I deeply apologize for any bad blood there may have been between us” said Zeus. “You are officially my new favourite person.” Persephone giggled, but then a yawn escaped her lips that she was unable to stifle.

“You should get some sleep” said Hades tenderly.

“Yeah, you’re right” she said. She went over and hugged Poseidon, waved at Zeus, bid the three of them goodnight. “Make sure they get their sweaters before they go” she said to Hades before she disappeared up the stairs. Hades watched as she went, and then turned back to his brothers, letting all of his worries fall back on his face.

“You doing alright there?” asked Poseidon.

“Persephone hasn’t been sleeping well” he admitted. “It’s really starting to concern me.”

“Well how long did it take you to get used to the fact that there’s no difference between night and day down here?” asked Zeus.

“I don’t remember, I was too busy back then” replied Hades. “Besides, it’s not that, it’s nightmares, nightmares she won’t talk to me about, and I just keep thinking-”

“Hey, now you’re spiraling” said Zeus, interrupting him. “Listen, I wasn’t lying when I told her I don’t think this is that bad… Now if it gets any worse, I might start to worry. But let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.” Zeus smiled at him encouragingly, and Hades did his best to return the smile. One quality of Zeus’ that he wished he shared was his constant belief that everything would work out in his favour. It may make him egotistical, but it also seemed to make things much easier for him.

“Thanks” he said to Zeus. He turned to Poseidon. “And I’m glad you decided to come by. It was good seeing you, both of you.”

“Anytime bro” said Poseidon, clapping a hand on his shoulder, the picture of brotherly love. “Now about those matching sweaters…”


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took forever! Just to let you guys know, I've started an online course which is taking up a lot my free time in the next little bit so updates will be less frequent then they have been.

_On the far wall of the greenhouse was a small stone fountain. It was intricately designed, the water spouting from the centre of a collection of carved leaves, and collecting in a stone basin at the base of the fountain. It was too small to be the main source of irrigation for the greenhouse, but she often used it to fill up her watering can when plants needed a little more attention. Currently, she was using it to desperately scrub the blood off her hands._

_“Splendid one…” came the voice, drifting over the sound of the running water. She looked out to the nearest window, and sure enough, there were the tell tale crimson eyes and sinister smirk._

_“Oh, it’s you again” she said flatly, and then went back to scrubbing her hands. She couldn’t tell if the voice was male or female, if it was young or old, if it was kind or taunting. What she did know was that she didn’t want to talk to the voice today, not after what had just happened._

_“My my, that’s a lot of blood” said the voice, and she pursed her lips in response. “Someone must have been naughty.”_

_“I don’t want to talk about it” she growled through gritted teeth, but her discomfort only caused a throaty chuckle to escape from the dastardly smile._

_“But I do” said the voice. She sighed in frustration as she continued to scrub. “What did you do, Splendid one?”_

_“It was a mistake” she asserted, glaring at the piercing eyes outside the greenhouse. “I just want to forget it ever happened.”_

_“But why would you want to do that?” asked the voice. She paused, for a moment actually considering the question. “You are being consumed by others expectations.” She looked down at her hands. She had stopped scrubbing, just letting the water run over them, watching as the water mixed with the blood and flowed into the basin._

_“Why not let yourself be reborn in fire and BLOOD.”_

***

Persephone jolted awake, the book she had been reading falling from her lap onto the floor with a dull thud. She was in the library, curled up in one of the large wingback chairs, re-reading a book about the origin of the four realms and the formation of government. It was a dull read, very dryly written, so Persephone must have nodded off. Big John, who had been curled up at the foot of the chair, got up and put his head in her lap, his big eyes full of puppy concern. She started to pet him, the feeling of her fingers in his fur helping to ground her after her sudden awakening.

“I’m okay Big John” she said to him, trying to comfort the clearly worried dog. “It was just a nightmare.” Big John continued to look at her concerned. “I know they’ve been getting worse, but I can figure this out, trust me.” He started to whine. “Oh don’t give me that.” He titled his head to the side. “Look, he’s worried enough as it is, I don’t want to burden him with something I should be able to work through on my own.” Her face was close to his now, and he stuck out his tongue to lick her nose, making her giggle. 

“Persephone!” called Hades’ voice from downstairs, confusing Persephone. She dove for her phone to check the time, but ended up just falling sideways out of the chair. “Are you okay?” he called, clearly reacting to the sound of her fall.

“Yeah, I’m fine” she called back. “What time is it?” _Did I sleep all day?_

“It’s only 1:30” called Hades, and Persephone relaxed. “Sorry if I freaked you out, but I have a surprise for you!” Persephone got up and started to head downstairs, intrigued.

“This better not be something widely expensive” she teased as she walked down the hall.

“It’s not, but one of these days, you will let me spoil you” Hades called back. Persephone headed down the stairs. When she reached the front hall she saw Hades standing there with another god, making her heart explode with joy.

“Eros!” she screamed, and her feet lifted off the ground so she could throw herself into his arms..

“Hey Petal Power” he said, holding her close. Hades was chuckling watching the reunion of the two friends. 

“What are you doing here?” asked Persephone, still a little in disbelief.

“I called him” admitted Hades. “I thought you would appreciate some company.”

“I do!” squealed Persephone, squeezing Eros again. Persephone then threw herself into Hades’ arms. “You’re the best!” Hades blushed. Persephone had still not gotten used to extravagant gifts, and Hades had still not gotten used to compliments. 

“I should get back to work” said Hades, still blushing a little. “I so rarely take a lunch break, I was getting very odd looks as I left today.” He bent down and gave Persephone a kiss. 

“Do I get one too?” teased Eros.

“No” said Hades flatly. “I will see you later my love” he said to Persephone, waved goodbye to Eros, and then headed back out the door.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” cried Persephone, hugging Eros again once Hades was gone. “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too!” said Eros. “But… full disclosure, I’ve kind of known you were here for months.” Persephone, pulled back from him, confused. “Here, let’s go sit and I can explain” he offered, and the two of them headed to the living room. 

“Can I get you something to drink?” asked Persephone as Eros sat down on the couch. 

“Tea?” he asked.

“You got it” she replied, and then headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on. 

“As soon as you went missing, I went straight to Zeus” said Eros, Persephone being able to easily hear him from the living room to the kitchen. “I spilled to him back when you spent the night here after the Panathenaea, so he owed me. He confirmed what I already suspected, but also made me swear I wouldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to mess anything up for you, so I figured I would keep my distance until you reached out. It was just enough to know you were safe and happy.” Persephone had finished up making their tea as talked, and she headed into the living room with their mugs.

“Aww” she said, touched by his last sentence. 

“I know, I’m the greatest friend ever” he said, taking his mug from her and taking a very small sip before putting it on the coffee table. “So… tell me the whole story! Do not spare any detail.”

Persephone told him everything that had happened, the party, finding Hades, finally recognizing each other. She told him about how they walked and talked for hours, and eventually made their way to the garden. She told him about how he spontaneously brought her here, and some of the fallout that ensued about that. At this point, she couldn’t hold back the burning question she had.

“What do people think happened to me?” she asked Eros. 

“People just think you ran away” he replied. “And most of them don’t blame you.”

“Really? People don’t suspect that I’m here?” she asked, and while she was relieved, she was admittedly a little surprised. Eros shrugged.

“When you first went missing, Zeus and Hades were both like ‘Ya, we looked, she’s not there’ and everyone went ‘good enough’” said Eros. “I think Artemis and Hestia might have suspected, but it’s not like they’ve said anything. Don’t forget, besides myself, my dad, and Athena, no one else really knew you were dating.”

“True” said Persephone. “I mean, some others kind of knew, but I guess that makes sense…” Another thought occured to Persephone. “What about Ares and Athena, do they-?”

“No” said Eros, cutting Persephone off, knowing where she was going. “They’re still on campaign in Mortal Realm, and knowing how my dad gets when he’s on campaign, they probably have no idea what’s going on.”

“You don’t think they might have noticed the snow?” asked Persephone. Eros considered for a moment.

“They might have” he admitted. “But when it comes to the mission, they both get pretty one track mind about it.” Eros and Persephone sipped their tea. “Hey, so have you been able to leave the house at all since you’ve gotten here?” asked Eros.

“A little bit” replied Persephone. “I’ve been working with Hecate the last two months on being able to change my shape, but I’ve been having trouble with it. I can change my form alright, but maintaining it is another problem. The longest I’ve been able to do it is an hour.”

“Yikes” said Eros.

“Exactly” said Persephone. “It kind of limited things that way. The last thing I need is to be out for a walk with the dogs and have some stupid paparazzi take a picture of me. I can only guess what crazy stories the media would cook up if they knew I was here.”

“Can I ask, why don’t you just come out to everybody like ‘I’m here now bitches, deal with it’?” asked Eros. “It may not be ideal, but at least that way you can control the narrative.”

“I don’t want to do anything like that with mama still out there looking for me” said Persephone. Hades and her had had this discussion already, and she had been adamant. “I’m still hoping I can find a solution to this situation that doesn’t completely destroy my relationship with my mother, or worse, start a blood feud, and I don’t think blindsiding her is the best way to go about that.”

“Fair enough” said Eros, although he did not look totally convinced. 

“Speaking of crazy mothers” said Persephone, desperately wanting to stop talking about her, “how are things going with your mom and Psyche?”

“I actually do have updates on that front” said Eros, perking up a little. “Ma let slip that she’s having Psyche do four tasks, and that she’s already done the first one.”

“Do you know what it was?” asked Pesephone. 

“Apparently she had to sort through his huge pile of grain in a day, and somehow, she managed to do it” said Eros. Realization dawned on Persephone’s face as a memory came flooding back to her. “What?” asked Eros.

“I think I met her” said Persephone.

“What?!” yelled Eros. “Tell me everything!”

Persephone filled Eros in on the whole story of the girl on the hill. Sure enough, the beautiful weeping woman was indeed Psyche. Persephone’s heart filled with joy at the thought that she helped Eros and Psyche get one step closer to each other. Her friend looked so relieved that she was there to help, but he did admit this made him slightly afraid if she could pass her next task without assistance.

“You’re looking a little tired, hun” commented Eros as Persephone attempted to stifle a yawn. “You alright?” Persephone’s automatic response was to tell him that she was fine, but in earnest, the idea of opening up to someone about this felt so good.

“I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately” she admitted. “It’s made sleeping a little difficult.”

“What kind of nightmares?” asked Eros.

“The greenhouse kind” she said. She had told Eros about those nightmares a while back when she was having them while living in Olympus, so he knew exactly what she was talking about. “I don’t know why I keep having them, I mean it’s not like I’m there anymore.”

“You may not be in the Mortal Realm anymore, but you are still kind of trapped” said Eros, a little wearily, as if he didn’t know how she would react. His words caused her stomach to turn into knots. She looked away, and Eros clearly sensed how uncomfortable she was. “I’m not saying this isn’t miles better from where you were but… you can’t leave the house…”

“I know” Persephone admitted. She had been feeling this way for a while, but it was something different to have it said out loud. 

“Have you talked to Hades about this?” asked Eros.

“No” replied Persephone. “He’s already dealing with so much of this for me, I don’t want to worry him any further.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s already worried” said Eros. “He kind of seemed that way when he called me.”

“I’m just really afraid that if I tell him, he’s going to think this is all his fault” said Persephone. “I don’t want him to confuse any struggles I’m having right now with my feelings for him.”

“I hear you” Eros, giving her a supportive smile. “It’s a tough situation, but as someone who has been in a very similar situation to Hades, I would suggest talking to him about this before you try to stab him in his sleep. Guys do not like that.” He paused for a moment, and then said in a strained voice, “Ha. Ha. Laugh Persephone. If you don’t laugh, it just sounds sad.”

“Ha, ha…” said Persephone uncomfortably. Despite the strange attempt at humour, Eros was in fact right, although Persephone wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to have that conversation.

“Ooh, brainwave!” said Eros, perking back up. “While not a permanent solution, I may have an idea to get you out of the house for some fun.”

“Ooh, I’m listening” she said, glad for the change of subject for many reasons.

“Have you met my older sister Tyche yet?” he asked. “Goddess of Fortune, Chance, Providence, and Fate?”

“I don’t believe I’ve had the… chance” said Persephone, ending her hilarious joke with a dopey grin. Eros did not laugh.

“Yeah” he said, deadpan, clearly not amused. “Anywho, she owns the best casino in Olympus, and next Friday she is having a masquerade night.”

“Intriguing” said Persephone, still cautious. “Masquerade does imply hidden identity, but what happens if someone recognizes me? No offense, but most of those dinky half masks that people wear don’t do much for concealment.”

“That’s the best part, Tyche uses enchanted masks” said Eros. “As long as you’re wearing the mask, no one will know who you are! I mean, unless you give them permission… so like, you and I could recognize each other, but no one else could. This way, you only have to worry about maintaining a new form to and from the casino!”

“That does sound like fun” said Persephone, starting to get excited. “I don’t know though, it’s still pretty risky.”

“If it helps, I could ask Tyche to give you a little blessing for the night” said Eros. “She kind of owes me.”

“How many people owe you favours?” asked Persephone.

“A lot” replied Eros. Persephone was seriously considering this. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t been feeling a little cooped up as of late. Hanging out with Eros in a place that wasn’t Hades’ house was mighty tempting, and she had heard all sorts of glamorous stories about parties at Tyche’s casino. 

“I really shouldn’t” said Persephone, and Eros’ face fell. “I don’t think Hades will like the idea.”

“Since when do you need to ask his permission?” asked Eros.

“It’s not about asking permission” replied Persephone. “It’s about recognizing the fact that he is really sticking his neck out for me right now and I don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize that.”

“Totally get that” said Eros, “but you also deserve to have a little fun, just saying.” Persephone didn’t answer, giving Eros an apologetic look, even though she did really want to go. “Why don’t you talk to him? Selfishly, I really don’t want to show up to this party alone.” 

“I’m sure you have plenty of people to go with” said Persephone.

“Yeah, but I want to go with you” replied Eros. Persephone considered again.

“I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

***

Eros ended up having to leave shortly before Hades arrived home from work. When Hades came home he was immediately glad he had reached out Eros. He had given up trying to get her to open up about her nightmares. He supposed there were just things that she wasn’t ready to talk about with him yet, and he could hardly blame her, since there were things he wouldn’t talk to her about either. She had a different relationship with Eros however, and whether or not they spoke about those things, his visit certainly had a positive effect on her. He came that night to a Persephone who was lighter than he had seen her months. Dinner consisted of her gushing about how happy she was to see him, and how thankfully she was to Hades for calling him. And after the day Hades had at work, he couldn’t have been happier.

“Hades?” said Persephone hesitantly as the two of them cleaned up from dinner. She looked apprehensive, such a change from her demeanor during dinner, it worried him.

“Yes Sweetness?” he asked, washing wine glasses.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about…” she said, placing leftovers in tupperware containers. He was starting to get nervous, old insecurities flooding back. “Eros mentioned that his sister Tyche is having a masquerade night at her casino next Friday” she said. Hades was taken aback a little bit, this was not at all what he was expecting. “And he asked if I wanted to go with him…” 

“Yes, I remember seeing something about that” said Hades. Him and his brothers often frequented Tyche’s, and seeing as the Goddess of Fortune was always delighted to take their money, she made sure they all got invitations to her special events. “Did you want to go?”

“I mean, kinda, yeah” she said, still looking nervous. Why was she nervous to talk to him about this? She started talking very quickly, which she tended to do when she thought she was going to get push back. “Eros said she uses enchanted masks so no one will recognize me, I just need maintain a new form to and from the casino and-and Eros also said Tyche could maybe give me an extra blessing for the night, and like, I get I don’t need to ask your permission, but like, I thought-”

“Sweetness” he said, and she almost looked relieved to be interrupted. “There’s no need for rambling, if you want to go you should go.” She looked shocked to hear him say that, as if she expected this to be an argument.

“Really?” she said. He expected her to be happy, but she just looked confused. “But-but, it’s such a big risk to take! And you’re doing so much for me keeping this situation with my mom under control, and letting me stay here…” He shook his head.

“I love having you here” he said. Did she think she was a burden on him?

“And I love being here” she said. He reached out his hands to her and she took them. He pulled her in close, wanting to kiss the worry away from her face. It had no place on a face that beautiful. 

“I know you do” he said. “But even I would go stir crazy if I was locked up here all day.” She smiled sadly. “I’ve been to Tyche’s masquerades, I know her enchantments are solid. You’ll be with Eros, and I trust him, and moreover, I trust you.” Her face began to soften, which brought a smile to his. “Go Little Goddess, have some fun.” Her face stretched into a big smile. She threw herself at him, and he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. A thought occurred to him. “You know, you’ll need a new dress, so this finally gives me an excuse to spoil you.”

“Nope” she said mischievously, leaning back so she could look up at him. “I’ve still got that dress that Hera gave me, remember?”

“Dammit” he said. “Always one step ahead of me.”

Hades was glad to make Persephone so happy. In truth, he had his reservation about her going. It was a risk, and if she was discovered, it would come back to bite both of them. But she clearly wanted to go, and telling her no was always trouble for him. Perhaps a night out would help her with some of the things that she wasn’t telling him about. After all, part of him was feeling more than a little guilty for things that he wasn’t telling her. 

The pang of guilt Hades felt when she expressed her gratitude for handling things with Demeter still echoed in heart as he watched Persephone excitedly text Eros. The blight caused by Demeter’s absence had caused crowding in the Beach like he hadn’t seen in a long time. He had gone over the reports from Hermes and Thanatos that afternoon. The numbers had been startelling, and made one thing very clear.

He most certainly did not have this under control.


	28. Chapter 28

Persephone was filled with glee the days leading up to the Masquerade. She planned out her outfit, finally trying on the dress that Hera had given her. It was a black strapless gown with a slit up the side of the skirt and ended just above her ankle. The bodice of it had boning in it like a corset, and as intercity beaded. Hera was right, the chest was a little tight, but the fact that it laced up the back meant she didn’t have to have it taken out, it just needed to be tied extra tight. This did mean her boobs were nearly spilling out of the dress, although Hades did not seem to mind. She practiced changing her form, and Hades even taught her how to play poker, something she picked up on very quickly.

Seeing as Persephone was going to be out for the night anyway, Hades figured it would be a good night for him to go out with his brothers as well. She knew he didn’t like leaving her alone at home any more than he had to, so this was a perfect excuse for him to spend some time with them. 

When the night of the Masquerade arrived Persephone got ready at home with Hades’ help. The dress needed an extra helping hand to get into. Hades also helped her with her hair, braiding it for her so she could pin it up in an elegant braid crown. Apparently Hades had learned to braid hair for Athena before she had taken to cutting her hair short, and had since become the go-to hairstylist for all of his nieces. The image of the big bad King of the Underworld braiding his little nieces’ hair filled Persephone’s heart with such joy. After that she changed her form, dawning the nymph disguise she had been working on with Hecate. Once she was all ready she grabbed her coat and her purse, and then gave Hades a kiss goodbye.

Shifting between realms was still a skill she had yet to master, so instead she transported herself to the train station and took the train into Olympus. This is the first time she would be back in Olympus since the day she signed the deal, and she was more than a little nervous. She tried to stay calm, knowing the more she got herself worked up the more likely it would be for her to drop this form. Once she was on the train though she started to relax, remembering how much she enjoyed taking the train into work everyday. 

It was a short flight from the train station to Eros’ house. Eros opened the door already dressed and ready to go. They hugged quickly and then Eros’ eyes immediately went to her boobs.

“Holy Hera, look at those tits” said Eros. There were not many people who could say something like that to Persephone, and Eros was one of them. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be staring.”

“No, it’s okay” said Persephone as her and Eros took off from the front step of the house. “They’re out and proud for the world to see.” There may be a lot of things Persephone was still getting comfortable with, but she had always been pretty comfortable with her body. 

“No kidding” replied Eros. Persephone let him take the lead in the flight, as he knew where they were going. He turned around, flying backwards. “I mean, you could damn near use those as a shelf.”

“I know, right?” said Persephone. “I can barely breathe this dress is tied so tight but it’s totally worth it.”

“Your boyfriend okay with them being out like that?” asked Eros. Persephone rolled her eyes a little at the question, seeing as Hades was the one to help her get into the dress in the first place.

“Oh yeah” she replied. “He’s secure in the fact that these puppies are coming home to him.” Eros let out a laugh.

“Good man!” he exclaimed, and turned back around so he was flying forward again.

The casino came into view not long after that. It was hard to miss. The building was large and elegant, with a massive illuminated fountain outside. Bright lights seemed to emulate from everywhere creating an island of light amongst the darkness of the night. The entire thing seemed to be bathed in gold, and out front were lines of luxury cars with beautiful people getting out and entering the extravagant casino. As they touched down on the base of the steps that lead up to the front entrance, a feeling began to grip Persephone that she hadn’t felt since the Panathenaea. She felt totally out of her depth, like she didn’t belong here at all. Eros seemed to sense her apprehension because he turned to her.

“Don’t worry Petal Power” he said. “Tonight you can pretend to be whoever you want.” Persephone smiled warmly at him as he offered her his arm. She took a deep breath, took his arm, and the two of them walked up the steps and into the building. 

“Eros!” cried a lofty, whimsical voice as soon as they entered. They were in a sort of lobby area, decorated in extravagant golds and rich reds. A goddess was walking towards them, and Persephone could only assume this was Tyche. Wait, was she walking or floating? No, her feet were definitely touching the ground, but she moved with such elegance it was as if she glided. Persephone could definitely tell this was a child of Aphrodite. She was tall, slender, with long legs. Her hair was pin straight, and styled into a sleek ponytail that hung down to the middle of her back. Her skin was gold, but not the same gold as Hera. Tyche’s skin was a cooler and lighter shade of gold, and her eyes were a piercing cool green. She was dressed in a sparkling gunmetal gown that hugged every inch of her body. Persephone understood why she was the Goddess of Fortune, she looked blessed and intoxicating. 

“Tyche!” called Eros, and the two of them hugged tightly. When they broke apart Tyche then turned to Persephone. 

“And you must be my dear brother’s friend, who shall remain nameless, at least for tonight” said Tyche. She gave Persephone a sparkling smile and sly wink. 

“So wonderful to meet you” said Persephone, a little breathlessly, reaction to the aura Tyche gave off. Without looking away Tyche made a motion with her hand, and all of sudden a staff member was taking Persephone’s coat. The next second another staff member came up with two half masks resting on a royal purple pillow. It was over the top, but Persephone got the feeling everything Tyche did was. 

“My brother has told me a little of your situation, and I must say, I am so delighted you took the risk tonight to come to my little party” said Tyche sweetly. She picked up one of the masks from the pillow, the one Persephone had been gravitating towards. It looked to be made of black lace, but it was actually intricately designed metal work, and was dotted with black rhinestones. Eros grabbed the other mask off the pillow, a black and white harlequin pattern on it, and began to put it on. Tyche held the mask in her hands to Persephone’s face and she could feel hands, probably Eros, tying the mask behind her head. As soon as it was secure, Persephone dropped her nymph disguise, she didn’t need it anymore.

“Do I have permission to see you?” asked Eros from behind her.

“Of course” she said. “And do I have permission to see you?”

“Yes indeed” replied Eros, and stepped out from behind her. The pattern of his mask was perfect to Persephone, as it echoed his mischievous ways. 

“And of course, I can see both of you for who you are, as I laid the enchantments” said Tyche, admiring both of them before turning to Persephone. “Speaking of enchantments, fortune does favour the bold, it was bold of you to come here, so I think a little extra blessing is in order.” Tyche bent down and gave Persephone a kiss on the top of her head. All of a sudden the Persephone felt a rush of energy flow through her. It was one of the most incredible feelings she had ever felt. She had never felt so confident and sure of herself in her whole life. She suddenly felt as if the world was hers, and she could do absolutely anything. Tyche giggled at the look on Persephone’s face. She then linked one arm with Persephone, one arm with Eros, and led them towards the rest of the building. “Luck smiles on you tonight, my lovelies! Have fun!”

They were standing at the top of a massive double staircase that led down to the main floor of the casino. While the lobby was darker, more reds than golds, this area was bright. There were poker tables, slot machines, craps tables, and some games Persephone didn’t even recognize. She could spy two bars from where she was, with immaculately dressed staff wandering around the floor with trays of drinks. Off to her left she could hear the faint pounding of music, and she wondered if there was dancing here as well. Everywhere were elegantly dressed people wearing masks, drinking, laughing, gambling, and having fun. It was a world like Persephone had never seen before, and she felt more than ready to tackle it. 

“Let’s go grab drinks” said Tyche, but she trailed off as she looked behind her back towards the entrance. “Actually, if you will excuse, some high rollers just walked in - Your Majesties!” she called cheerily, skipping back towards the lobby. Persephone’s heart gave a leap, and sure enough when she turned around, she spied the three kings.

“Sugar snaps!” she hissed as she quickly turned back around to hide her face. Eros was lazily leaning on railing.

“Relax, you’re disguised, remember?” said Eros. 

“Oh right” mumbled Persephone. She could hear the conversation happening between Tyche and the three kings as clearly as if they were standing next to her, and not several feet away, although it appeared they could not hear her and Eros.

“And how are my three favourite customers tonight?” asked Tyche, her voice smooth and sweet.

“What are they doing here?” hissed Persephone to Eros.

“All the better for seeing you” said Zeus to Tyche, to which she responded with a girlish laugh.

“It’s a party! Why are you so jumpy?” asked Eros, perfectly relaxed.

“Oh, you flatter me Zeus” Tyche purred.

“Does he think he needs to check up on me?” asked Persephone. He said he trusted her. If he trusted her, then why was he here?

“Poseidon, you’re looking handsome as always” said Tyche. “And my my, Hades, you’re looking expensive tonight.”

“How can he check up on you? He doesn’t know you’re you” said Eros. 

“Oh, I forgot about that” said Persephone.

“Will you gentlemen be participating in the Masquerade this evening?” Tyche asked.

“His brothers probably wanted to come, and he couldn’t say no without blowing your cover” said Eros. Persephone considered. It was entirely possible. While both Zeus and Poseidon both knew where she was living right now, the more people who knew about this little scheme, the more things could go wrong.

“What do you say? Sounds like fun” said Zeus.

“I don’t think so” replied Hades. “I think it’s best if everyone knew who we were.”

“Well if that’s the case, why wouldn’t he warn me?” asked Persephone, a new thought occurring to her.

“Oh come on Hades” said Poseidon. “The last time worked out _so_ well!” Poseidon and Zeus both burst into laughter.

“Maybe he did, crazy lady, check your phone” said Eros. Persephone realized she hadn’t looked at her phone since before she boarded the train.

“You know what? On second thought, I agree with Hades” said Zeus. Persephone opened her purse to look for her phone and her eyes went wide when she spied something she definitely did not put in there. “It’s good to be the king, why would I want to be anyone else?”

“Sweet Gaia!” she gasped as she pulled a thick wad of cash that was not in her purse when she packed it for the evening.

“Suit yourself I suppose” said Tyche.

“Holy mama, that's a lot of money!” exclaimed Eros when he saw what Persephone was holding. “Put it away, put it away!” She quickly shoved the cash back in her purse. 

“Hades, my dear, I cannot stop staring at you” said Tyche, in an almost crooning voice that made Persephone’s ears perk back to their conversation. “You are just absolutely glowing.”

“The love of a good woman will do that to you” said Poseidon. Persephone turned around now to face the little group just in time to see Hades shoot his brother a look. 

“Well I hope she’s not the jealous type” purred Tyche. 

“What” said Persephone as she noticed the fortune goddess’ posture. She was siddled right up next to Hades, her chest sticking out. Jealousy started to spur in Persephone as she watched her flutter her eyelashes at him. Hades, for his part, was doing his best to look away.

“Speaking of which, have you changed that pesky little gambling law in the Underworld yet?” she asked as she began to graze her fingers lightly across his shoulder. It was a different kind of jealousy than she had felt before. It wasn’t about lusting after something she didn’t have, it was about protecting what was hers. It had more fire than poison in it.

“Watch the plant life” said Eros, picking a red vine out of her hair. 

“As a matter of fact, I haven’t” said Hades. “You have yet to present me with anything that makes it worth my while.”

“Oh Hades” said Tyche, throwing herself at him, placing her hands on his chest. “When are we going to stop this silly game between us and finally ravish each other like we’re meant to?” Persephone almost lost it, but Hades snatched Tyche’s wrists and removed her hands from him.

“You don’t love me Tyche” said Hades. “You just love my money.” Tyche looked at him with an expression of wide eyed innocence. Then, in an almost child-like voice, she replied.

“Doesn’t every girl?”

Hades rolled his eyes, his expression unimpressed. Zeus and Poseidon started to laugh, and Tyche seemed to drop her flirtatious act. “Alright, get to gambling you three” said Tyche. “I’ll have the girls send over your usual drinks.” Tyche then walked back over to Persephone and Eros, her easy smile falling into confusion when she saw Persephone. The jealousy was still churning inside her. She knew the red vines were still present in her hair, and her lips were tightly pursed.

“What’s her problem?” she asked Eros. She tossed a wave over her shoulder as the kings walked by.

“I don’t think she liked you flirting with Hades” said Eros, in an amused tone. Persephone shot him a look.

“Oh, you’ve got a thing for the king?” asked Tyche, her tone suggestive. “I don’t blame you. That’s a stimulus package I wouldn’t mind getting a hold of.” Persephone’s eye twitched as another flare of jealousy leapt up inside her. Eros clearly noticed, and he placed both his hands on Persephone’s shoulders. From the outside it looked affectionate, but the pressure he was holding her with almost felt like he was prepared to hold her back if needed.

“She’s the good woman, you gold digger” said Eros. “They’re in ooey gooey mushy love, as you put it.” Tyche’s expression fell a little, and she looked thoughtful.

“Oh” said Tyche, as if she wasn’t expecting this. “Well, gross, but I’m very happy for you.” Persephone shook her head in confusion at Tyche’s reaction. Did she just describe love as gross?

“Tyche think’s love is overrated” said Eros, answering Peresphone’s unasked question. Tyche sighed, given her brother a look.

“You’re oversimplifying it” she said. “I just think there are things that are more important. Like money.”

“That’s a hard stance to take in your family” said Persephone, thinking about how the daughter of the goddess of love could possibly have that view.

“Tell me about it, one of the many reasons I don’t live at home anymore” said Tyche. “Anyway, you have nothing to worry about between Hades and I. It’s just a silly little game we play.” She considered a moment. “Actually, it’s more like a game that I play which he graciously tolerates. I just can’t seem to help myself around a man with a big, fat, wallet.” Tyche looked at Persephone, who was getting uncomfortable again. Her eyes at a mischievous glint to them and she had a coy smile on her lips. “Really, you’re more my type than he is” she said, a hint of the flirtatious tone from before in her voice. Now Persephone was uncomfortable for an entirely different reason.

“Stop being horny on main” said Eros to Tyche.

“Never!” cried Tyche with a lighthearted giggle. Peresphone relaxed some as she was starting to get a handle on Tyche’s personality. Tyche flipped her long ponytail, sending out a wave of her intoxicating aura. She started to walk down one of the staircases and Eros and Persephone followed. “Oh Eros, I just remember, I have a story to tell you!” exclaimed Tyche. They started to walk across the casino floor towards one of the bars. “I was in the mortal realm today, doing my blessings, you know, and you remember those nasty golden sheep? Well of course they’re surviving this blight.” They were at the bar now, and all Tyche had to do was make a motion with her hand and three shots showed up in front of them. “Anyway, I came across this gorgeous mortal woman who was just weeping. Apparently, she needed some of the golden fleece from the sheep.” She grabbed a shot off the bar, as did Eros, and Persephone followed their lead. “I felt so bad for her, I enchanted the grass to sing a lullaby, putting the sheep to sleep.” She raised the shot in the air in a toast. Eros did the same, so Persephone copied. She watched as the other two took the shot, drinking the whole thing with no problem. Figuring it couldn’t be that bad, Persephone drank. Whatever the drink was, it burned as soon as it hit Persephone’s tongue. She nearly spat it out, but managed to drink it all, the alcohol burning all the way down her throat. “She took the fleece, and you wouldn’t believe what she did next. She gave it to Ma!” Eros’ eyes went wide, and probably would have spat out his drink if he hadn’t drank it all. Persephone knew why, this must have been Psyche.

“I want you to start from the beginning and tell me every single detail you remember” demanded Eros. 

“Okay, okay!” said Tyche, clearly taken aback by his intense reaction. Tyche began to talk again and her and Eros wandered away from the bar. Persephone did not follow them this time though. With Tyche’s blessing, Persephone felt that following her whims tonight, no matter how strange they may seem, could only bring good things. She began to wander through the casino floor, the stack of cash in her purse making it feel heavy. Normal Persephone would be uncomfortable being given that much money to basically blow, but masked and blessed Persephone was thinking why shouldn’t she have some fun with it. Presumably that’s why Hades had put it in her purse in the first place. She passed the slot machines, she passed the craps tables, and found herself looking around at the tables of people playing various styles of poker. 

“Hello pink perfection!” called a familiar voice to her left. She turned to see Zeus leaning back in his chair, staring at her with a seductive smile on his lips. He was sitting at one of the poker tables with Hades and Poseidon, and there was an empty chair as well. Initially her stomach clenched, but then she remembered that he couldn’t recognize her. He just saw a beautiful woman wandering around. She could walk away right now. But she didn’t, she walked over to him. “Why don’t you take a seat right here gorgeous?” he asked, patting his lap. Persephone saw Hades roll his eyes. “You can be my good luck charm tonight.”

“Alternatively, I have a free seat” said Poseidon, also patting his lap. It was so strange, they were saying almost the same thing, but Poseidon lacked an almost sinister edge that was present in Zeus’ voice. “I could use a little extra luck playing against these two.” Persephone regarded them with a coy smile. Normal Persephone would have bolted by now, this Persephone was seeing an opportunity. But first, she wanted to see how good this enchantment was.

“What about that seat?” she asked, pointing at Hades’ lap. For a split second Hades looked bashful, and anyone who didn’t know him would have missed it. Then the King of the Underworld was back, and he looked at Persephone with the standoffish demeanor he often presented to the world. 

“Seat’s taken” he said simply. Persephone looked at him, trying to read any hint of recognition in his face. She smiled when she found nothing, she might as well have been a stranger to him. Any other night, this would have saddened her, but tonight, this meant she could have a little bit of fun with the three most powerful gods in the four realms.

“That’s too bad” said Persephone, pouting. “I guess I’ll just take this seat” she said, and slipped into the empty chair at the table earning her shocked expressions from all three men.

“No way” said Zeus. “Nope, nice try though.”

“What?” asked Persephone innocently. “I can sit in your laps but I can’t play cards with you?”

“You can’t just waltz up to the three kings and play a round of poker” said Poseidon.

“Why not?” asked Persephone.

“First off, I doubt you can afford the buy-in” said Hades.

“How much?” she asked, grabbing her purse, thinking about how this was the perfect use for this money.

“5 g’s” said Zeus, a triumphant look on his face that fell when Persephone pulled out the cash. She began to flip through it, counting, and then dropped the majority of it on the table.

“Oh look, I still have some to spare” she said, smiling at the impact she had just made. Zeus snatched up the cash and began to count. She could see that he was starting to consider, but then he shook his head.

“No, the answer is still no” he said finally, and then put the cash back on the table.

“Oh, come on” said Persephone, still not ready to give up. “I wouldn’t think Your Majesty's would have a problem with taking a little girl’s money.”

“I think we would all feel more comfortable if we knew who the little girl was” said Hades.

“I’m not taking this thing off” said Persephone, pointing to her mask. “Do you think I would have the confidence to walk over here if I wasn’t wearing it? I’m a nobody, and this is the most exciting thing that is ever going to happen to me. But the masquerade gives people the opportunity to put on a mask and be anyone they want, just for one night. You three have just chosen to be yourselves.”

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” asked Poseidon, taken aback by the boldness of her last comment.

“That’s my point, I know exactly who you are” said Persephone. “Listen, I don’t see what the problem is. You get an extra 5 grand in your pot, and I get a fun story to tell my grandkids one day about how I played poker with the three most powerful gods in the realm.” Each of them considered her for a moment, although Persephone couldn’t read any of their expressions. She wanted to say something else, but something inside of her told her to keep quiet. Finally Zeus sighed and shook his head.

“Get the girl some chips” he said, and Persephone bounced with glee. “And a drink, you’re not allowed to play with us sober.”

“Fine by me” she said with a smile. She turned to the server who had magically appeared next her, thinking of the most sophisticated cocktail she could think of. “I’ll have a Cosmopolitan.”

***

“There you are!” called Eros, crossing the casino floor, making his way to the poker table. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Persephone had been playing cards with the kings for over an hour. She won a little, but mostly lost, however this was on purpose. It appeared Hades had learned nothing from their chess match, and that his brothers were the same way. They underestimated her, which meant they were being sloppy. She was fine with this however, and in fact encouraged it. She often looked confused at her cards, made dumb mistakes on purpose, even asked one or two stupid questions. She was biding her time, luring them into a false sense of security, and her patience was about to pay off.

“So this is where you disappeared to?” said Eros when he finally reached the table. He looked around at the three kings, none of which acknowledged him as they were too busy staring at their cards. “I gotta say, you have more balls than I give you credit for.”

“It’s the mask I tell you” said Persephone. “I wouldn’t be half as confident without it.”

“Are we gossiping or are we playing cards?” snapped Zeus, tapping his fingers on the table. He had lost quite a bit in the last three rounds between Persephone and Hades. Of the three of them, Hades was by far the best player. Persephone was luckier though, and tonight, that’s all she needed.

Persephone had been dealt a pair of 10’s to start with, and right now they had the 6 of diamonds, the king of clubs, and the 8 of diamonds in their community cards, and the dealer was just about to lay down the fourth. It was the 10 of diamonds, and Persephone’s heart gave a leap, although she showed nothing. She looked around the table at the others. Zeus had stopped tapping his fingers and started to drum them across the table instead. He had something good, she knew it. Zeus was up first to bet. He threw a hefty amount of chips into the pot and then looked over to Persephone. 

“I’ll see that” she said, calling his bet. “And I’ll raise.” She added more chips, perhaps an unwise amount of chips, but she followed her get. Zeus just looked smug, he clearly thought he had the better hand. Poseidon’s eyes went wide, but Hades merely raised an eyebrow.

“That’s quite a bet” commented Hades.

“Well I guess that’s why they call it gambling and not knitting” replied Persephone in a confident tone. Hades looked mildly impressed by her response.

“I suppose so” he said. “I’ll call” he said, and threw his chips into the pot. 

“You people are crazy” said Poseidon. “I’m out.” Persephone wasn’t surprised by that. Looking over at his chips it didn’t even look like he could call the bet if he wanted to. She watched as the dealer flipped the final card in the flop. The 6 of spades. _Thank you blessed Tyche._

“I’m all in” said Zeus with a cocky grin, pushing all of his chips into the pot. He made mistakes when he was frustrated, and he was giving away too much. Maybe he thought he had a hand no one could beat, but Persephone had a damn good hand herself.

“Me too” she said quickly, pushing her own chips in the pot. She could feel Eros’ eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. She didn’t want to risk accidentally giving anything away. Zeus looked impressed but not threatened. Hades was taking his time. He looked at his cards, he looked at the flop, looked at Persephone and Zeus. Then, he leaned back in his chair and took a long drag from his cigar.

“I fold” he said finally. “Have fun you two.” Zeus barely let him finish his sentence before he flipped his cards to reveal the 7 and the 9 of diamonds.

“That’s 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of diamonds” said Zeus triumphantly. It was a nice straight, and Zeus clearly thought he had won. Persephone smiled and decided to take her time flipping her cards. She said nothing as she revealed her two 10’s. Along with the pair of 6’s and the 10 in the flop, Persephone had Zeus beat.

“Ha!” exclaimed Hades looking at her cards. “That's a full house!” Zeus looked livid as Persephone gathered her chips.

“What are you so happy about?” Zeus snapped at Hades. Hades took another long drag from his cigar.

“I love seeing you get beat, brother” he said. “It’s one of my top 10 favourite activities.” Between Hades indirect support of her victory and the easy confidence he exuded, Persephone wanted to drag him away from the table and do one of his other top 10 favourite activities. She took a deep breath and tried to quell her desire, as that would definitely blow her cover. Although this might be a good time to tap out.

“Well gentlemen, I think it’s time for me to go” she said, gathering up all her chips.

“What? No!” said Zeus. “You have to give us a chance to win our money back.”

“I’m sorry Your Majesties, but I don’t have to do sweet-fuck-all” said Persephone sweetly. “Thanks for a great story, and, well…” she motioned to all her chips, which Eros was now helping her carry.

“Gentlemen, I think we’ve been played” said Hades. 

“Who me?” said Persephone innocently. “Nah, I’m just lucky.” With that she turned away, walking across the casino floor with Eros following.

“I cannot believe you” said Eros, sounding impressed. 

“Like you would have passed up that opportunity” said Persephone. She stopped suddenly and looked around, a little lost. She turned to Eros. “Where do I turn these into money?” she asked, indicating to her chips. 

“This way” said Eros, leading her in a different direction. “I’m just surprised, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Well it’s the Masquerade” said Persephone. “A night to try on a new personality, be a new person. And tonight I’m a person who is super confident and 100% believes she is the baddest bitch in this casino.”

“I think it suits you” said Eros. “And you seemed to have fun with it too.” Persephone smiled coyly.

“You’re not wrong.”

***

When Hades got home that night he found Persephone lying face down on the couch in the living room, still wearing her dress. She lifted her head when he came in, giving him a lazy smile. She never ceased to amaze him with how beautiful she was. She never needed to try, it was simply effortless for her. 

“Hey handsome” she said softly as he came over to her.

“Hello gorgeous” he said. Bent down and gave her a kiss. There was a lingering taste of champagne on her lips. When he broke away he decided to sit on the floor, leaning against the coach. She brought her hand down and he took it, stroking his thumb across her hand. “How was your night?” he asked.

“Wonderful” she said. “Eros, Tyche, and I had so much fun.” He looked over to her and saw that her eyes were closed. 

“Did Tyche give you a little blessing tonight?” he asked. She nodded. “Well that explains why you’re so tired.”

“But it felt amazing” she said sleepily. 

“A little extra luck always does” he said, reaching up with his other hand to stroke her hair. “But the come down can be kind of hard.” She moaned in what he assumed was acknowledgement. “I’m guessing you’re not still wearing that dress for sexy reasons given how tired you are” he teased. She lifted her head again, pouting.

“You tied it too tight and I can’t get it off” she said, a little pathetically. Hades couldn’t help but laugh, she was just so adorable.

“I’m so sorry Sweetness” he said, and then shifted so he was on his knees in front of the couch. He started to work on the lacing that was keeping her trapped inside the dress. It was good to remember that if she wore it again she needed help getting in and out of it. Not that he minded having an excuse to undress her.

“So did you have fun tonight?” asked Persephone. “I saw you and your brothers there.” Hades was taking his time with the laces, letting his fingers trail across her back as he did.

“It was alright” he replied. “Zeus was rather insistent about going to Tyche’s. I did text you to warn you but you never replied.” The lacing was undone now and he gave her a gentle pat on the back. “Alright, up you get.” She pushed herself up off the couch and swung her legs around so she was sitting up. She gave him another pouty look, and Hades knew she really did not want to get up off the couch. “C’mon sleepy head” he said, taking her hands and pulling her up. 

“I did go to check my phone at one point, but I got a little distracted” she said. As soon as she was standing the dress started to slip off of her. He placed his hand on her waist, helping it off the rest of the way, so she was standing before him in nothing but a pair of black lace panties. She reached out to him to trace a finger along his jaw and under his chin. “ _Someone_ slipped a ridiculous amount of cash in my purse.”

“Oh, you found that, did you?” he said as he sat back on his heels, took her by the hips, and pulled her down to him so she was sitting in his lap. 

“How could I miss it?” she said. He knew she was tired but he couldn’t help himself when she was sitting in his lap like this. His hands gently caressed her skin, and she clearly didn’t mind. Her head lolled back, exposing her neck. He took the opportunity to plant soft kisses there.

“Did you put it to good use?” he murmured against her skin.

“Oh yes” she said, and then her head snapped back up. “I ended up buying into a high stakes poker game against these three pompous men.” This time it was Hades’ head that snapped up. Persephone had a smug grin on her face. “They completely underestimated me, but you’ll be happy to know I cleaned them out.” Hades signed and hung his head as realization dawned on him.

“You were the mystery girl” he said. “Well, I have to hand it to Tyche’s enchantments. Looking back I should have guessed, but in the moment I had no idea.” He was truly impressed with her, although playing in that game was quite the risk. He had so many questions for her, but he didn’t get a chance to ask.

“Speaking of Tyche” said Persephone, and now it was her turn to tease his skin with her touch. “You two seemed very friendly when you arrived.” There was a slight edge to her voice that he had never heard before.

“Were you jealous?” he asked, slightly amused. He so rarely ever dealt with jealousy when it came to his partners. Most of them didn’t care enough, and the one time Minthe had been jealous of Persephone, well, he had to admit, it wasn’t unfounded. Persephone had nothing to worry about with Tyche though, so he couldn’t help but be amused.

“Maybe a little” she said. “But I know I have nothing to worry about with you.” Her fingers began to lace their way through his hair causing shivers to snake down his spine.

“That’s right” he murmured. Persephone leaned in to him, her lips tantalizing close to his. “I’m all yours.” Hades couldn’t take it anymore. He moved to close the gap between their lips, but before they could touch, his phone buzzed. Persephone jumped and yelped in surprise, having been startled at feeling the vibration through his pants pocket. She started to giggle at her own silliness, and then leaned forward and placed her forehead on his shoulder.

“I’m so tired” she half groaned through giggles, making Hades chuckle. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back.

“I know Sweetness” he said in a soothing tone. “Let’s go to bed.” She nodded, her head still against his shoulder, and then with great effort, got up off his lap. Hades’ took a moment to admire her as she stood up and stretched, her hands reaching up towards the sky. Then he stood up himself, scooped her up into his arms, carried her up the stairs and laid her gently on the bed. As she snuggled herself in under the covers, Hades pulled out his phone to check the message that had interrupted them. “Of course” he said in mild amusement when he saw who it was from.

“What?” asked Persephone in a barely audible tone from under the blankets.

“It’s from Tyche” he said. He came over to the bed, sat next to where Persephone was lying, and read the message out loud.

**Tyche: Hey Hades - as always it was so wonderful to see you. I had the pleasure tonight of meeting your good woman, and I have to say she is an absolute delight. Please let her know that if the flirting bothers her, then of course I’ll stop… although I cannot guarantee I’ll stop flirting with her ;) I meant what I said tonight, you really were glowing, and it’s plain to see why. You’re a lucky man, and that’s coming from me.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note about Tyche: In most of the original myths, it's agreed that Tyche is the daughter of Aphrodite and either Zeus or Hermes. In this version... I don't know who Tyche's dad is. I don't think it would be Hermes, but it's not Zeus. Mostly because I just love the idea of the Goddess of Fortune being super flirtatious with the God of Wealth.


	29. Chapter 29

The weeks following the Masquerade were wonderful. Being able to have a relatively normal night out with a friend renewed Persephone’s hope that maybe this all might turn out okay. Her nightmares had backed off, meaning she was getting better sleep. Her sessions with Hecate were more productive than ever. She was able to hold new forms with ease, and now they were working on more complex magics. Being able to text back and forth with Eros meant that her days were not so lonely anymore, and her nights had become even more sweet now that some of the unspoken stressors between her and Hades had eased. Yes, this reprieve the Masquerade had bought her was sweet, but unfortunately, it was also temporary.

Persephone had given up on her day planner when she had come to the Underworld. What was the point in planning her days? Time seemed so meaningless on this Oasis she had stowed away on. But there was something coming, something that made time ever so important. So Persephone ordered a day planner online, along with some new colourful markers. As soon as they arrived she opened up the day planner and counted down the days, making notes along the way.

One month until Spring.

One thing the Masquerade had taught her was the power of pretend. That night she had pretended she was confident, and she was. Now with the date looming over her she was doing her best to pretend everything was okay and it was… sort of working. She didn’t have a punching bag to work on when she got overly anxious, so swimming laps in the pool provided comfort during her days, and her lover’s embrace provided comfort at night. That being said, Hades was hiding something, she knew he was. And not just her birthday present that he was hiding one of the spare bedrooms. Even though she had told him she didn’t want to celebrate her birthday. She didn’t really like celebrating her birthday under the best of circumstances. Most years it went something along the lines of ‘Happy Birthday, now you have work to do’. But this year… well…

Three weeks until Spring.

The nightmares returned. Sleep seemed to elude her most nights, and the sleep she was getting was not restful. It was because of this that paranoia was beginning to set in. Yes, it was definitely the lack of sleep that was causing this. Not because Hades came home from work every day looking like the life had been sucked out of him, and he refused to tell her why. Not because every time she asked about the situation with her mother he told her not to worry and then changed the subject. Not because she kept catching him looking at her like a scared animal who would bolt if she made a wrong move when he thought she wasn’t looking. No, it was definitely just the lack of sleep and not at all any of those other things.

Two weeks until Spring.

Maybe she was freaking herself out for no reason. Maybe the day would come and go and nothing would happen. Maybe that was worse. The fact that this day that was usually so important to her would pass into total insignificance. Would she even be the Goddess of Spring anymore if she let that happen? No, this day was important. There either would be Spring, or there would not. And both of those outcomes had significant implications. These implications were beginning to consume her every waking thought. No matter what would happen on that day, she knew that somehow it marked a point of no return. 

One week until Spring.

She found herself longing for sunshine. 

No one was telling her anything.

She found that her powers were becoming erratic egain.

Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything.

She found herself thinking that if someone didn’t tell her something soon, she was going to scream.

***

Persephone was sitting out on the deck, watching the last bit of flame in the outdoor fire pit smoulder into nothing. It had been a particularly restless night for both of them, and around 5am they mutually decided to give up. Hades came outside and built them a roaring fire in the contained outdoor fire pit they had recently bought for the deck, and they cuddled up in front of it until Hades had to get ready for work. Persephone hadn’t bothered to eat breakfast that morning as Eros would be coming over soon with brunch. Hades opted for an old workday classic; a croissant in the car as he drove to work. Persephone thought he did this so he could spend more time holding her by the fire. She appreciated it. In truth she didn’t want him to go to work. She would be perfectly content if they could sit here holding each other by the fire all day. But eventually he had to go, although she had persuaded him to be a few minutes late. Now she was sitting by herself, waiting for Eros to arrive for brunch.

Persephone had told Eros when he arrived he could just come right in, so when she heard the front door open and the dogs bark she knew exactly who it was.

“Helloooo” called Eros’ cheery voice from the front.

“I’m out on the deck” she called back, not particularly feeling like moving from her spot. Before he left, Hades had grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her, tucking her in tightly. Eros made his way out to the deck, smiling warmly when he saw her.

“My my, someone looks cozy” he commented, placing the bag of takeout on the patio table so he could sort it. 

“I am” said Persephone. She reached her hands out of the blanket to take the cardboard container and utensils Eros was handing to her. Eros settled into one of the deck chairs next to her. She opened the container and took a bite of her spinach omelet.

“This is gorgeous by the way” said Eros, motioning to the new fire pit. “I don’t remember it from the last time I was here, is it new?” Persephone nodded as she swallowed another bite of brunch.

“We bought that with my casino winnings” said Persephone.

“I was curious about what you did with that money” said Eros. “This wasn’t all of it, was it? That would be one damn expensive fire pit.” Eros popped a tater tot in his mouth as Persephone spoke.

“No no” replied Persephone. “I gave back the money that Hades slipped into my purse. The fire pit was bought specifically with the money I won from him. I tried to give it back but he wouldn’t take it, he said I won it fair and square. Buying this was a compromise.” She had wanted to buy something they could enjoy together, and she loved bonfires, so this was perfect. 

“What about the rest?” asked Eros. He had been with her when she cashed out her chips so he knew exactly how much she had won from the three kings.

“I put some of it away in a savings account” she said. Hades had set up a separate savings account for her under his name. While she had her own bank account, they figured that sudden activity after almost a year of nothing would be unwise. “The rest I donated to The Gorgon Project. They’re an organization that helps victims of sexual assault.” At first she had wanted to donate all of the money, it was Hades who had talked her into keeping some of it for herself.

“Stop being so good, you make the rest of us look bad” said Eros jokingly. Persephone giggled and then popped a grape into her mouth from the fruit that came with her omelet. Something about it tasted… strange… but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “So how have you been?” asked Eros, his words slightly muffled through the massive bite of eggs benedict he had just shoved in his mouth.

“Alright” said Persephone. She knew why Eros had happened to suggest brunch on this day, but she wasn’t ready to talk about that. “I’ve actually been productive recently. I’ve gotten back into ‘academic researcher’ mode and written a few articles on the potential, as well possible ethical ramifications, of splicing together the DNA of certain plants to- and I’m losing you.” Eros had completely glazed over.

“What? No, I’m paying attention” said Eros, but he was not convincing. Persephone gave him a look to which he responded with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, science was never my strong suit in school.”

“No problem” said Persephone, giving him a smile to let him know he was off the hook. “It’s not like anyone’s going to read them anyway. I mean, who would want to read the ramblings of a college drop out?”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short” replied Eros. “It’s not like you dropped out of college because you weren’t smart enough, there were other things going on. Honestly, you’re like the smartest person I know.” Persephone blushed at the complement. She opened her mouth to tell Eros he was the best best friend ever, but before she could, she heard the front door open. 

“Yoo hoo” called Hera in a sing-songy voice from the front. Persephone looked over at Eros who looked just as confused as she felt.

“Did you…?” she mouthed, and Eros shook his head. “Come join us on the deck Hera” called Persephone, and soon Hera appeared through the sliding glass door.

“Surprise!” said Hera as she stepped outside. She was carrying two bottles of some sort of drink, one in each hand. “Eros, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Didn’t know you’d be here either” replied Eros.

“Well, I had some time off this morning and I thought it would be nice to drop by” said Hera. Persephone wasn’t totally buying that, but she wasn’t about to push the issue just yet. “Plus, I brought brunch” she announced, holding up the two bottles in her hands with a strange sort of pride.

“G-ma, that’s a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of champagne” said Eros. Persephone was not surprised that Hera's version of brunch consisted exclusively of mimosas. Hera scowled at Eros.

“First of all, you know I hate it when you call me any variation on the g word” said Hera. “Second of all, your point?” Eros just gave an accepting shrug as a response. Hera placed the two bottles on the patio table. “I’ll go grab the champagne flutes, don’t worry, I know where they are” she said, and then disappeared back into the house.

“So updates on my life, my dad’s back in town” said Eros. 

“And how is that going?” asked Persephone, knowing the interesting relationship Eros had with his father.

“So far, hilarious” replied Eros. Persephone sat up in surprise as this was not the answer she was expecting to hear. “Well Athena is back too, and the other night the two of them got completely shit faced at my house.” Eros had a devilish grin on his face as he remembered the story. “I have never seen Athena that drunk before in my life, and it was glorious!” Persephone couldn’t imagine the usually so composed Goddess in that way.

“Really? What’s she like?” she asked.

“A whirlwind” replied Eros gleefully. “You know how normally she’s trying to rain in Ares? Well drunk Athena is the polar opposite, and drunk Ares is 100% on board with all her crazy schemes. Ma finally got involved when they stole Agape’s skateboard and tried to do kick flips off the roof.” Persephone laughed out loud trying to imagine Ares and Athena standing on the roof of Aphrodite’s house with a skateboard. Now she was so curious but before she could ask anymore questions, Hera came outside carrying three champagne flutes filled with mimosas.

“Did you tell her about the Panathenaea?” asked Hera as she handed out drinks. Persephone’s mimosa was a darker colour than the other two, and Persephone was grateful Hera was thoughtful enough to make hers a little less alcoholic.

“No, I can’t believe I forgot!” said Eros as Hera dragged a patio chair over from the table and settled in in front of the fire. 

“Oh yeah, that was supposed to be last weekend right?” asked Persephone. She did find it curious that Hades mentioned no social engagements he was obligated to attend, especially considering that date. Eros turned to Persephone excitedly, his expression and posture indicating he was in full gossip mode. 

“So Athena threw a hissy fit” said Eros, almost giddily.

“What?” said Persephone, surprised. “That doesn’t sound like her at all.”

“Well that’s because it’s not exactly true” Hera cut in, a little disapprovingly. 

“Okay, okay, the people of Athens had a collective hissy fit” said Eros. “But Athena didn’t stop them either.”

“They think the blight is because they haven’t been honouring their Patron Goddess the way they should” added Hera, answering one of Persephone’s unanswered questions. Persephone took a big sip of her mimosa when the blight was mentioned, something that did not go unnoticed. “They wanted their own festival, something just as spectacular and grand as the Panathenaea.”

“So Zeus gave her the Panathenaea!” said Eros, revelling in the sharing of gossip. 

“No, really?” said Persephone, shocked Zeus would ever even consider such a thing. Athena really must be Zeus’ favourite if he gave her his favourite party.

“Yup, the Panathenaea honours Athena now” said Eros. “And the date’s been moved to, what? Early to mid August?”

“August 11th” said Hera. The three of them continued gossiping for the next little bit, Persephone delighted to hear stories about the goings on in Olympus. They finished their first mimosas, and Eros went to go make more. When he came back, Persephone noticed that this one was a bit lighter than her first. By the time she finished her second mimosa, the alcohol was giving her enough confidence to address something that had been on her mind since Eros had first texted her, and certainly when Hera showed up.

“Okay, can we talk about you both spontaneously and independently decided today would be a good day to check up on me?” she asked. Hera and Eros exchanged a nervous look, and then Eros took a long sip of his drink. He was on number three.

“It’s almost spring” said Hera cautiously.

“5 days” Persephone said, so quickly she nearly cut Hera off. “I’ve been counting.” Her intensity seemed to have augmented both Eros and Hera’s hesitancy. They exchanged another look.

“I think we’re just curious how you’re holding up?” asked Eros. His tone had an attempt at levity, but Persephone could tell he was nervous. 

“Not well actually” she said, deciding not to lie. “In fact, it would be fair to say that I am decently freaking out.”

“Have you talked to Hades about this?” asked Eros. Something about the way he asked made Persephone think he already knew the answer. She looked down at her mimosa, not wanting to meet his gaze.

“He has enough on his mind right now…” mumbled Persephone and then took another sip of her mimosa.

“Persephone!” said Eros, his tone reprimanding. “Please tell me you’ve at least talked to him about the nightmares, you said you were going to do that like, two months ago now!”

“In my defense, things got a lot better after the Masquerade” said Persephone, dodging the question.

“I’ll take that as a no” said Eros, and Persephone sank further down into her blanket.

“And how are things now?” asked Hera, her tone calm. Again, the question was asked as the answer was already known, but her tone was less accusatory than Eros’.

“Very possibly worse” admitted Persephone.

“How much worse?” asked Eros. Persephone didn’t want to admit to either of them how bad it had gotten, but hiding it seemed futile at this point.

“Worse enough that Hades has threatened twice to get Hypno involved if I don’t get some sleep” she confessed. She thought immediately that perhaps ‘threatened’ had been the wrong word. He had been tired, concerned, exasperated, and Persephone suspected even frightened during these conversations. Eros took a deep breath and hung his head, she knew he was disappointed in her for not listening to him.

“I know you care about Hades’ deeply” said Eros, his tone much more calm than it had been before. “I know you don’t want to add to his stress. But do you think not talking to him about this, when he knows something is wrong, is perhaps part of the reason why he’s so stressed?” Persephone didn’t want to answer that question. That thought had crossed her mind as well. But if it was really bugging him, he would ask, right? He would press her, even if she deflected. And he hadn’t. 

“Maybe” she admitted, but followed up with more energy. “But he’s hiding things from me too, I know he is.” Hera and Eros didn’t say anything, they just looked at her, waiting for her to continue. She started speaking again, in a frantic, almost manic pace. “I’m starting to get the feeling that the situation in the mortal realm is worse than I’ve been led to believe. Hades won’t tell me anything, and with spring coming-” A jolt of terror shot through her, so raw it almost felt feral. She looked back at Eros and Hera, who were both staring at her like she had three heads. “What?” she asked, not thinking her confession was shocking enough to garner this reaction. “Why are you both looking at me like that?”

“Persephone, have you been having trouble with your powers?” asked Eros cautiously.

“Maybe a little, why?” replied Persephone, starting to feel really uncomfortable with the way they were both still looking at your.

“Your eyes” said Hera quietly, as if she was somehow entranced by Persephone. “They flashed white, then red, then back to normal. Like a flicker of primal power, like a... short circuit.” Hera’s words weighed on Persephone, almost suffocating her. She wanted to hide away. She really was broken. She shook her head, pushing the thought from her mind. She didn’t have time to be broken, there were other things that needed fixing that were more important than her.

“Did I make a mistake letting Zeus and Hades handle this for me?” asked Persephone, and Hera answered so fast she was nearly cut off.

“Yes” said Hera, her voice back to normal. She leaned back in her chair, her cigarette holder now appearing in her outstretched hand. Persephone sank again, feeling awful, and Eros through his grandmother a disapproving look. “What?” she said defensively, and then took a drag on her cigarette. “I’ve learned not to let Zeus handle anything for me.”

“Projecting much?” said Eros. Hera shrugged and then pulled out her phone. Eros shook his head at her and then turned to Perseohone. “Look, I know I must sound like a broken record by now, but you have to talk to him. Good relationships are built on open and honest communication, and-”

“Aha!” interrupts Hera. She’s looking triumphantly at her phone. “According to Zeus’ calendar he has a meeting with Hades tomorrow at 11am to discuss the ‘Demeter/Persephone Problem’.” She put air quotes around the last words. “Zeus’ office.” She locked her phone and placed it back in her jacket pocket.

“Great!” said Eros, looking excited, although Persephone was still feeling sick at being described as a ‘problem’. “After the meeting is the perfect opportunity to speak with him. You can talk about your feelings, about what plans need to be based on-”

“Counterproposal” interrupted Hera again. “You could sneak into the meeting and hear for yourself.” Persephone wasn’t surprised by Hera’s proposal, she knew the Queen was used to sneaking around to gain the info she needed. She hated that she was actually intrigued by the idea. “C’mon little butterfly” said Hera, her voice almost seductive, “it’s not like you haven’t done it before.”

“Okay, no offense, but you may not be the best person to dole out relationship advice” said Eros. The look Hera shot him made Persephone’s stomach do a flip but Eros somehow didn’t seem to be bothered.

“This is not just about her relationship, also, how dare you” said Hera, waving her cigarette in Eros’ direction. “I’m the Goddess of Marriage.”

“And look at the state of your marriage” mumbled Eros. Hera’s gaze was piercing.

“Oh yeah, lover boy? Where’s your girlfriend?” said Hera, her tone taunting and accusatory. Now it was Eros’ turn to glare.

“How do you know about her” he hissed.

“I know everything” Hera hissed back. Persephone let the pair of them bicker as her mind wandered, considering what they both had said. Have an open and honest conversation with Hades, or sneak around behind his back and find out what _exactly_ he had been hiding from her? Gods, why did the latter sound so much more appealing?

 _You know why, Splendid one_ whispered the voice from her dreams.

Her eyes widened, but thankfully Hera and Eros were too focused on each other to notice. The voice had never spoken to her while she was awake before. Or had it…? 

“Stop!” cried Persephone, and Hera and Eros looked over to her almost as if they had forgotten she was there. “Hera, tell me what to do.” Hera’s eyes lit up, but her smile was almost sinister looking.

“It will be my pleasure.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: descriptions of some upsetting images of people starving/dying
> 
> Also just a general warning, this chapter is another heart-whrencher.

Four days until Spring.

Persephone wasted no time in getting ready once Hades left for work that morning. She quickly changed out of her sweatpants and tank top, and put on a blouse and pencil skirt combo that should have her fitting right in at Olympus Headquarters. Once she was all dressed she stood in front of the full length mirror in the bedroom and concentrated on changing her form. Hades had seen variations on her nymph disguise one too many times, so she decided to take a chance on something more complex, a satyr. The horns were easy, but there were not naturally pink satyrs. Maintaining the new greyish blue hue to her skin might prove a challenge, but she was determined. 

Just like the night of the Masquerade, she transported herself to the train station. It was a slightly off time for the train, most people having already gone to work by this point. She was glad for the nearly empty car, and as she rode to Olypmus, she went over the plan carefully. She arrived out front of Olympus Headquarters at precisely 10:45am, ready to follow Hera’s instructions to the letter.

_”Now, getting in the building won’t be difficult. There are plenty of different beings coming and going for various reasons. As long as you look and act like you belong, no one will question you.”_

Persephone took a deep breath, staring up at the towering building. She began to sweat as memories of her previous trips to this building. The building seemed to loom over her, getting taller somehow as she stared at.

_”Remember to focus, if you drop your form at this point, you’ll be screwed.”_

Persephone shook the thoughts away, letting Hera’s words bring her back to reality. She walked through the front doors, finding the lobby just as bustling as it was everytime she had visited. There always seemed to be activity here, which today made Persephone grateful. She walked with purpose over to the elevator bank, only shooting one nervous glance over to the main reception desk. No one paid her any mind thankfully, and she followed a crowd into the next open elevator, ending up near the buttons. Olympus didn’t employ elevator attendants, so Persephone became the designated button presser thanks to her proximity.

“56 please.”

“42, thanks.”

“Is 70 pressed? Can you-thanks!”

“Hold the door!”

_Shit, I have the worst luck with elevators._

The other occupants of the elevator pressed to the back as far as they could as the King of the Underworld slipped deftly through the closing doors. 

_”If you see Hades, don’t panic. There shouldn’t be any reason for him to recognize you, or even notice you, as long as you maintain your form.”_

“99 please” he said. Persephone’s heart was beating so fast she thought it might beat out her chest, but she took a calming breath. He wasn’t looking at her, why would he have any reason to? He probably thought she was nervous for the same reason the rest of the people in the elevator were; the terror of being in the presence of the Unseen one.

_”Okay, you’ll need to go to floor 96.”_

She realized she had forgotten to press her own destination as the elevator gave a lurch and began moving upwards. She quickly pressed the button for floor 96, focusing her eyes on the dull light it emitted. Anything but look over at Hades. Gradually the elevator began to empty, each person doing their best to avoid bumping Hades as the left. One person was so determined to avoid him that they pushed Persephone completely into the side of the elevator. 

“Rude” she breathed as they got out on their floor. They were the last person out other than her and Hades, they had plenty of room. Uh oh. Her and Hades were alone in the elevator. They were at 70. She had 26 floors to go, thank gods this thing moved quickly. 

“Have a good day!” she squeaked when the elevator dinged for 96. She couldn’t help it, it was only polite.

“You too” said Hades, almost sound confused that she had spoken to him, before the elevator doors closed. 

_”Floor 96 is under construction right now, so it should be pretty empty.”_

Floor 96 was covered in dusty, translucent tarps. Desks and chairs were piled on top of each other, and the walls looked like they had been stripped bare. The smell of drywall and paint hit her nose instantly. There almost seemed to be a fog in the space, created by all of the dust and debris caused by the renovation. She listened carefully for signs of life, but could hear nothing but the rustling of the traps being blown by the air conditioning.

_”When you get there, head to the third door on your left.”_

Persephone counted as she walked down the hallway, and entered into a conference room. It was much smaller than the one she had been in upstairs, with only eight chairs being able to fit around the table. It looked hardly used, a layer of dust covering everything here as well, even though it didn’t appear to have been touched by the construction. She cleared away a spot on the conference table and put down her purse and the empty file she was carrying as a prop. She had no need for them now.

_”The best part about this conference room is that there are no cameras in here. Something Zeus doesn’t know that I know, for the record. Once you’re there, transform into your butterfly form.”_

Persephone found it difficult to go from one disguise to another for some reason, so she momentarily dropped her satyr form, turning back into herself for just a second. The next second she adopted the familiar form of the pink butterfly. After concentrating so hard to maintain her previous disguise, it was a relief to be something that came so naturally. 

_”Next, slip into the air vent.”_

The air vent was easy to locate, high up on the wall, almost at the ceiling, in the far corner of the room. She flew up to it, and with a little fenageling, she managed to slip herself through the grate covering the vent. She found herself staring down a long, metal hallway, that she could see branched off in several places. She swallowed hard, staring down the air duct, and then began to fly forward.

_”This is going to be the tough part. I don’t have a map of the air ducts I can give you. You have to make it up three floors, so focus on any path that leads you up. And be sure to watch out for the air conditioning.”_

The air ducts were a never ending maze of identical looking passageways. She did her best to fly through every passage that led her upwards, but sometimes that option wasn’t available. She tried desperately to remember the layout of the 99th floor from the brief time she had been there, and try to think of where Zeus’ office was in comparison to where she had started. The fear of getting completely lost started to grip her.

_”Once you get close enough, you should start to hear their voices. They tend to carry. After that, just follow the sounds and settle yourself in a good place for you to listen.”_

The low rumbling of male voices hit her ears, saving her from being completely overwhelmed by the impending sense of claustrophobia that had started to set in. They were too far away at this point to determine what they were saying, but it was definitely the voices of Zeus and Hades. She followed the sounds as best she could, and eventually she started to make out words.

“...rather hoping everything would be resolved by now.”

Persephone turned a corner and saw light pouring through into the passage. It was the vent that led to Zeus’ office, finally! She got as close to it as she dared, folded her wings so neither of them would be distracted by a flash of pink, and then began to listen.

“As was I” said Hades. It was clear to Persephone that she was coming into the middle of a conversation. “But as you know, Persephone and I agreed not to do anything until Demeter returned. It would be unfair to blindside her, and she’s still hoping for a peaceful resolution of this.”

“I think we’re well past that” said Zeus. Anxiety began to tighten around Persephone’s heart. She wanted so desperately for everything to work out okay. Was Zeus saying it was too late for that? Why? “It’s four days until spring, Hades” continued Zeus. Persephone was glad she wasn’t the only one counting the days. “The last six months have been absolutely devastating to the mortals, they need spring.” A pang of guilt struck Persephone as she listened, but she didn’t have long to dwell on it before Zeus kept talking. “Hell, _we_ need spring! You’ve seen the numbers, you know-”

“I am well aware of the death toll, yes” said Hades. His voice was calm on the surface, but Persephone could hear the edge there. ‘Death toll’ rang in her ears. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. She knew mama wasn’t doing her job, she knew there would be those who wouldn’t survive that: the old, the sick, those who were weak anyway. Hades had promised her he would let her know if things got out of hand, so they couldn’t be _too_ bad, could they? “Any word on Demeter?” asked Hades.

“Nothing” spat Zeus, clearly frustrated. “And I’m going to be honest with you, even if she busts down that door in the next five minutes, I don’t think she’s going to particularly up to doing her job after she finds out what you did to her precious little girl.” So much of what Zeus said bothered Persephone. Sure, mama would be upset over what happened, but would she really refuse to do her job because of it? Letting the mortal realm continue to suffer because she was upset? She couldn’t believe it, and yet the guilt continued to gnaw at her. However a flicker of anger lit up inside her as well at the implication that Hades _did_ something to her. Hades had nothing except to love her unconditionally, and rescue her from a life of confinement and denial of her true nature. “Oh don’t give me that look” said Zeus after a moment of silence. Clearly Persephone was not the only one who objected to his words. “You know _I_ don’t think that, but you know that’s how Demeter will see this.”

“I know” said Hades in a low, resigned tone. “Reasoning with her will be difficult, especially given her history of completely disregarding her daughter’s wants and wishes.” 

“Difficult? Try damn near impossible!” said Zeus. “And certainly not within the time frame.” There was another pause in the conversation, and Persephone resisted the urge to inch forward so she could see what was going on. The tension was palpable, and not being able to read their faces was killing her. Just as she began to take a few steps forward however Zeus began to speak again. “The mortals, well those that are left anyway-” _That doesn’t sound good._ “-have been praying for spring. In all my years I have rarely seen them so united in their prayers before, and it is all for delivery of a swift, gentle, and fertile spring.”

“Well that explains a lot” said Hades, and Persephone wondered what he meant. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long for the answer. “Persephone’s powers have been particularly erratic lately. I thought it might have been because… well nevermind. My point is, at her age, she has no idea how to handle the power that comes from that much concentrated prayer. No wonder she’s flickering in and out of her primal form at random, I’m surprised she’s keeping control as well as she is.”

“And _my_ point is, I’m about ready to join them” said Zeus, nearly cutting off Hades’ analysis. Persephone was relieved to hear there was at least an explanation to her power fluctuation that included something other than her losing her mind, but the relief was short lived. “The only difference between me and the mortals is that I know, as of right now, spring’s not coming.” An icy chill ran up Persephone’s spine. “That being said, I also know where spring’s been hiding away.”

“I don’t think I like where this is going” said Hades, and neither did Persephone.

“Just hear me out” said Zeus. “What if Persephone goes up and does spring?”

“No” said Hades, his turn to nearly cut off his brother. 

“Hades, she’s the Goddess of Springtime!” objected Zeus. “I can’t just have people not do their jobs. This thing with Demeter is bad enough, what find of precedent would that set?” Zeus paused, perhaps he expected Hades to reply. When he didn’t, Zeus continued. “It’s not like I’m suggesting sending her back permanently, she could commute. I mean, Thanatos and Hermes do it all the time.”

“The answer is still no” said Hades resolutely. “The second spring returns, Demeter will get word and she’ll…” Hades trailed off, sounding if he was coming to some conclusion. Persephone was on edge for him to speak again, and when he did, his voice was dripping with anger. “Do you want to use her as bait?!” Persephone was shocked at his words, Zeus wouldn’t really-

“No!” said Zeus, his voice just as shocked as Persephone felt. Then there was a pause. “Okay, maybe a little-” Hades sighed heavily in disappointment and frustration. “But that doesn’t change anything else I said! Hey! This is not just about your love life, we’re talking about the good of the realm!”

“Oh, that really means a lot coming from you!” shouted Hades sarcastically, speaking exactly what Persephone was thinking.

“Hey man, none of my lays have ever caused a famine” Zeus spat back. There was another pause, just long enough for the word ‘famine’ to wash another wave of anxiety and guilt over her. “I mean, that I know of” added Zeus quickly. There was another pause, this one much longer. Persephone was sure that if she peeked through the vent she would see the two brothers glaring at each other. But then Zeus broke the silence. “Fine, if that’s how Persephone feels, then that’s how she feels.”

“What?” said Hades, confused and a little apprehensive. Persephone was just as confused as he was, how would Zeus know how she feels?

“Well I assume given your adamant refusal of my proposal that you and Persephone have spoken about this already” said Zeus, almost a taunting edge to his voice. They had never spoken about spring, and part of her was feeling somewhat responsible for never bringing her worries to him. “I mean, I haven’t forgotten the shouting down you gave me the day after she came to stay with you.” Persephone remembered that day, they way her heart swelled with love listening to Hades defend her rights to make her own choices about her life. “I’m just surprised, is all. I wouldn’t think she would be the type to let this terrible suffering continue when she has the power to stop it.” But she wasn’t, not at all. And now the guilt she had been feeling was starting to be replaced by another emotion. Resentment crept in, as she remembered all the times she had attempted to speak to Hades about her mother but he had brushed her off. “Unless… you haven’t-”

“Would you stop sounding so fucking smug!” shouted Hades, but this time his voice was shaking, rife with emotions. “Persephone has no idea the extent of situation in the Mortal Realm. There, you happy?” Persephone felt no satisfaction in hearing she was right that he was keeping things from her. She was being overwhelmed by the pain in Hades’ voice at that moment. She wanted to go to him, comfort him, but she remained in place, needing to hear what came next.

“Content” replied Zeus. “One question though: does she like you playing protector for her, or are you intentionally keeping your little butterfly in the dark?”

“You bastard!” Hades shot, and as he spoke Persephone could hear the scrapping of a chair. He must be standing now, and Persephone could imagine him just glowering at Zeus. “You were the one who told her we’d take care of this for her!”

“And you were the one who promised to get her involved if things got out of hand!” Zeus shouted back. “And unless you and I have a very different definition of ‘out of hand’ then-”

“This is going to tear her apart, you realize that, right?” Hades interrupted. His voice was cutting and icy. “When she finds out about the sheer devastation that has occurred because-” he paused, swallowing hard. “It’ll break her. My apologies, _brother_ , if I’m not eager to see that happen.”

“I think you’re missing the big picture here” said Zeus, his voice gentler than it was moments ago. “She’s going to find out sooner or later, and how do you think she’s going to feel knowing that you kept it from her all this time?”

There was another pause between the kings, and Persephone’s heart was in her throat, desperately wanting to hear what came next. Then a rumbling began underneath her feet, and her ears were flooded with the deafening sound of the entire duct beginning to shake. _Shit, the air conditioning._ If she didn’t move quickly, who knows where the air would send her. 

She looked around, and her eyes landed on another light source a little way down the duct she was in, shining downwards. Since Zeus’ office was on the top floor, going up hopefully meant leading her outside to the roof. She flew as fast as she could, reached the junction as soon as the air started to blow. Thankfully, it pushed her upwards. It was nerve wracking and disorienting being violently tossed around by the sudden airflow. It only lasted a few seconds though, as she saw sunlight coming towards her. She tucked in her wings before she hit the grate that led to the roof, and slipped right through the slats. As soon as she was outside she turned back into herself, landing a little harder than she would have liked on the concrete floor of the roof. She sat herself on the ground, tucking her knees tight to her. She knew she needed to get out of here, but first she needed to calm down.

Persephone felt like her brain was on fire. She was breathing heavily and her heart was beating so fast the sound of it filled her ears completely. She hated, _hated_ , how much turmoil Hades was in, and all because of her. It was difficult not to let that overwhelm her now, but she needed to concentrate. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. There were things she needed to do, and she needed to do them now.

Persephone closed her eyes and transferred back to the abandoned conference room on the 96th floor. Once she was there she grabbed her purse, which was sitting exactly where she left it. She began to rummage through it frantically, pulling out her phone and a compact mirror. She unlocked her phone, went to her contacts, scrolled until she found the right person, and hit call. She put the phone to ear, and as it rang she opened up the mirror, starting to change her form again.

Two things were abundantly clear to her now: the state of the Mortal Realm was much worse than she had been led to believe, and Hades was never going to be the one to tell her exactly how bad it was. That is, at least not anytime soon, and the clock was ticking. If she wanted to know, she needed to take matters into her own hands.

“Come on, pick up” breathed Persephone impatiently after the third ring. 

“Hello?” _Thank you!_

“Hecate, it’s Persephone” she said. Her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest, but her voice was surprisingly steady. “I need a favour.”

***

Persephone was sitting on the couch in the living room, taping her fingers frantically against her leg. From here she could see the front door, and she was staring at it intently, waiting for it to open. It was coming up on the time Hades typically got home from work. Hecate better hurry up.

The dogs knew something was wrong. Every one of them was curled up somewhere around her, at her feet, on the couch, in her lap. Pomelia had managed to get herself up on the back of the couch, and was resting her tiny head on Persephone’s shoulder. Cerberus had even abandoned his post at the gateway, a clear decision that right now she was more important to protect. He sat upright, staring at the door along with his mistress.

 _Where is she?_ Words from the meeting kept floating in and out of Persephone’s mind. Words like ‘devastating’ and ‘death toll’ and ‘those who are left’. They painted a picture that made Persephone’s stomach turn to knots. She needed to know the truth, even if the truth was worse than she was imagining. At least then she would have some data, _something_ to go on.

Persephone’s head snapped back to reality with the sound of the door opening. Her and the dogs all perked up to see who was walking in the door as Hecate stepped in, closing the door quickly behind her. Persephone got up, heading down the hall to greet her.

“Hey” said Hecate tenderly, and yet a little breathless. She pulled Persephone into a hug, but Persephone didn’t bother hugging her back. She didn’t have time for this.

“Do you have it?” asked Persephone impatiently. She looked at Hecate, but she didn’t seem to be carrying a bag or a file of any kind. Hecate reached into her pocket and pulled out a small USB drive. She moved to hand the drive to Persephone, and Persephone reached out eagerly for it. But then she stopped, an apprehensive look on her face. 

“I really don’t like this” she said, and Persephone frowned. “I shouldn’t be the one to-”

“If you honestly thought he would tell me himself, you wouldn’t be here” interrupted Persephone. Hecate was grinding her teeth, clearly uncomfortable with Persephone’s words. But Persephone was right, they both knew it.

“Okay” said Hecate, but she still didn’t hand the drive over. “But I’m staying while you look.” Persephone had no idea what that meant for what she was about to see, and at this point she didn’t care. She led Hecate upstairs to Hades’ office, where Persephone’s laptop had been set up for the last few days. As soon as the computer had booted up, Hecate plugged in the USB drive. Persephone sat as Hecate pulled up the drive's contents, quickly pulling up a file labelled “Pictures”. “For the record, I’ve been telling him for months he needed to speak with you about this” she said, and then surrendered the mouse to Persephone. “You should probably start here.” 

The first picture was of a field, one that looked like it had once contained grain or some sort of other similar crop. It contained nothing now, except dead stalks sticking out of the ground at odd angles. The ground still had the ruts in it from the ploughing, but even from a picture Persephone could see how dry and desolate the soil was. Everything in the field was covered in something as well. Not snow, but something just as icy looking.

“What is-?” started Persephone.

“Frost” answered Hecate. “It settled in just before the snows started.”

Persephone clicked to the next picture. This one had snow in it, and was of one of the forests. None of the trees had any leaves on them, something Persephone had never seen before. The forest floor, usually covered in moss and grass and ferns and flowers, was entirely bare, except for a thin layer of white snow. 

The next picture showed another field, and by the shape of the withered stalks Persephone could tell had once contained corn. Some of the stalks still stood up straight, although were pale, lifeless and decayed. Others were bent at weird angles. A farmhouse could be seen in this picture as well, but it looked abandoned. Persephone could see that some of the windows were broken, and the door was wide open, partially off its hinges. 

The next picture almost had Persephone reaching for the waste basket. This one had mortals in it. There was a large group of them, all of them in various states of distress. They had sunken cheeks and swollen bellies. Some were weeping, others were clutching themselves, some merely stared off in solemn contemplation. Before the group, on the ground, were a line of lifeless, sheet clad figures, so many they couldn’t fit in the picture. 

Persephone kept clicking through the pictures, but it was just more of the same. Each one showed the same thing, in some form or another. Death.

“Where are the animals?” asked Persephone. “I haven’t seen any animals in any of these pictures.”

“Dead or disappeared” said Hecate. “Most of the farm animals got slaughtered for food, or died of starvation themselves. A lot of the wild animals took off when the weather first started to turn… like they knew…”

They got to the end of the pictures, and Persephone relinquished the mouse back to Hecate. She opened up the file explorer, and then opened up a folder labelled “Reports”. She opened a file called “Cumulative Report Sept 21 - Mar 15”. A spreadsheet opened, one that looked familiar from Persephone’s days working at the Library. It had columns for names, age, date of death, cause of death, and location of death. Persephone began to scroll… and scroll… and scroll and scroll and scroll.

Persephone’s stomach gave an awful lurch as she felt its contents rising to her throat. She grabbed the waste paper basket just in time and vomited into it. There wasn’t much there, since she hadn’t eaten much all day. She coughed and spat up the last bit of vomit into the wastebasket, and then set it down next to her. She was shaking, and tears were pouring down her face.

“There has to be hundreds of names on this list” said Persephone in a hollow voice.

“Try thousands” said Hecate quietly. Her words caused another wave of nausea to hit Persephone. She grabbed the wastebasket again but this time all that came up was bile. 

“This is all my fault” croaked out Persephone. She grabbed the mouse again, scrolling anew. She noticed common names, families who had all perished. She noticed small numbers in the age column, oh Gods, _children_. She was starting to get manic, scrolling faster and faster. Hecate grabbed the mouse out of her hand and closed the spreadsheet, but Pesephone quickly wrestled it back from her and opened up the pictures again. She started clicking through them with the same sort of mania. The sheer magnitude of the devastation was hitting her in a different way, not just in what had been done, but in what it would take to recover.

“I can’t fix this” she announced. She stared at the pictures in renewed horror as that realization dawned on her. “Not by myself, I’m not powerful enough!” She whipped her head over to stare at Hecate. “You need to find my mother” she announced, in a voice that was almost pleading.

“What?” asked Hecate, both concerned and confused. Persephone stood from the chair and Hecate backed away from her, the same apprehension from earlier seeping into her eyes.

“I-I-I can’t fix this on my own, but she can” said Persephone, her mind whirling. “Please! You have to find her, and-and beg her to come back!”

“Persephone, I’m not sure-” started Hecate, but Persephone cut her off.

“Please!” she shrieked, the pitch of her voice jarring even to her. She took a deep breath, calming herself only a fraction, and continued. “Maybe if she knew I was safe and happy then-”

Persephone was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and closing. “Hello!” called Hades from the front. Both of the Goddesses ignored him.

“Honey, do you really think that’s going to be enough?” asked Hecate. Persephone knew what she meant. Her mother would not just accept hearing that she was safe and happy. She would demand to know where she was, and demand her back by her side.

“Kore, are you home?” called Hades. His voice was getting closer, and Persephone could hear his footsteps on the stairs.

“I will deal with her” said Persephone to Hecate. “But first I need you to find her.”

“What the-?” said Hades. Persephone tore her eyes away from Hecate to see Hades standing in the doorway. She watched as he looked at Persephone, looked at Hecate, looked at the image left up on the computer screen, and then back to Persephone. An expression crossed his face that Persephone had never seen before. It was full of pain and guilt and fear and confusion. Her face tightened as new tears began to spill from her eyes. He was cutting through her mania, and she had a sudden urge to run into his arms, kiss his face, and tell him it was all going to be okay.

But it wasn’t.

She shook her head and turned back to Hecate. She needed to focus. She needed to fix this.

“Hecate, please” she begged. Hecate looked frantically between her and Hades. Persephone knew she must feel caught between a rock and a hard place. Then her gaze finally landed back on Persephone.

“Yes” she said simply, and then transferred away in a fizz of bright blue light.

Persephone and Hades stood in silence for what felt like a long time, the only sound was Persephone’s heavy breathing. She had her eyes closed, not wanting to look at him. She had to gather her thoughts, make a plan, figure out what to do next. She knew that if she saw that mask of pain on her beloved’s face again she was going to fall apart. She didn’t have time for that. 

“Persephone, I-” Hades started, his voice quivering, but stopped when Persephone held up her hand to silence him. Persephone opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. There was a battle going on inside of her. A battle between the part of her that wanted to be held, and comforted, and protected, and another part that felt hurt, and betrayed, and guilty. When she finally spoke, only two words came out, spoken in a voice that was so cold and distant Persephone hardly recognized it in herself.

“You promised.”

“I’m so sorry Sweetness, please-”

“You promised!” she said again, this time looking at him. He was still standing in the doorway, as if rooted to the spot. The pain in his eyes was even more pronounced than before. He reached a trembling hand out to her.

“Please, love, let’s talk-”

“No!” she practically screamed. Up until this point it felt like their conversation was happening in slow motion. Now everything was speeding up. So many things were crashing down on her at once and she suddenly felt like she couldn’t breath. Her blood started pumping impossibly fast through her veins. She had to move, she had to move now. She marched passed Hades and out of the office, and Hades made no move to stop her.

“Where are you going?” he called after her as she headed down the stairs.

“I don’t know” she replied, and in truth, she didn’t. She just knew she had to get away from here. She needed space to sort all of this out inside her.

“Please don’t go!” called Hades, and Persephone could hear him following her. There was a part of her that was screaming for her to stop too, but her body wasn’t listening to that part. She grabbed her purse from where she had left it and one of the many sets of car keys that were hanging on the hooks by the door. 

She paused a moment before she walked out the door. She fought the urge to turn and look back at him. She knew if she looked into his eyes she would lose any resolve she had. She couldn’t afford that, she had to go. She gritted her teeth, blinked back the fresh wave of hot tears, and walked out the door.

She didn’t bother changing her form. She didn’t care who saw her now. Once she figured out which set of car keys she grabbed, she set off driving, still not entirely sure where she was going. She drove around the Underworld for a bit, but had no idea where she would go here that would give her the space that she needed. Somehow, without really realizing it, she ended up at the border. The nymph manning the checkpoint didn’t even look up, he merely waved her through. The lucid part of her brain, the part that wasn’t drowning in a flood of conflicting emotions, thought that all the border guards must know what Hades’ cars look like.

She drove through the streets of Olympus, but still she had no idea where to go. She was starting to realize that while she needed space, she also didn’t want to be alone. Her brain was still spinning at a frightening speed. She suspected she didn’t have all of her words back yet. She needed someone who wouldn’t ask a lot of questions, since she doubted she could answer them right now even if she wanted to. She needed someone who knew how to be quiet, who would know what she needed without needing a big long explanation that she was currently incapable of providing. She needed… well… she needed Hades. But she couldn’t have him, not now, so she headed somewhere else.

She pulled into the driveway, her parking job not as horrible as it could have been, all things considered. It was crooked, but at least she didn’t drive on the lawn. She marched up to the front door and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds of waiting, she banged on the front door with her fist as well. She felt a little guilty for her impatience, but she was desperate.

“I need you to say yes to this, and to not ask any follow up questions” she said when the door finally opened. “Can I stay here tonight?”

Athena blinked at her, a mixture of shock, confusion, and concern on her face. She took a moment to look Persephone up and down, and then her expression softened. A warm smile fell onto her lips, and she reached out her arms and pulled Persephone into a tight embrace.

“Of course you can.”


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plants mentioned in the beginning were researched from the Old Farmer's Almanac. A great resource for people who are curious about the meaning of plants.

Persephone was letting the warm water of Athena’s shower wash over her, focusing deeply on the sensation of it hitting her skin, letting it ground her back into reality. She tried to imagine the water washing away all of the things she had felt over the last 12 hours. She wanted her anger, her grief, her fear, her hurt, her anxiety, her despair, to all be washed down the drain. She knew it didn’t work like that, but she could hope. 

Everyone once in a while she reached up and pulled another piece of plant life out of her hair, reaching through the shower curtain to place it on the counter. She hadn’t realized until she got there and looked in a mirror that her hair was tangled with hemlock, red carnations, and willow. She had been so upset she had grown them entirely out of her awareness. She wondered if she had caused anything else to grow back at…

She sighed and turned off the shower, figuring she had been in there long enough. She stepped out, grabbing a towel she had already set out for herself to dry herself. She smiled when she saw that Athena had set out a t-shirt and pair of pajama pants for her to wear. She had to roll up the pajama pants quite a bit, Athena was much taller than her, but she still appreciated it. She threw away the pile of wet plants sitting on the counter into the wastebasket, and then braided her wet hair. It had been short this morning, but now it was just past her collar bone. Not a huge amount of growth, all things considered.

Persephone found Athena sitting in the living room, clearly waiting for her. Athena was also in pajamas, a clean dark grey set that had buttons down the front of the shirt. Persephone couldn’t remember if she was wearing these when she opened the door or had changed when Persephone had been in the shower. Persephone sat in one of the large cozy chairs she had, and Athena regarded her with a soft smile.

“So full disclosure, I called Hades” said Athena. Persephone was a little surprised.

“How did you-?” she began to ask.

“I recognized his car” replied Athena. “I just told him where you were and that you were safe. He seemed appreciative.” Persephone started to reply in her mind how she left things, and concern for her lover crept in. 

“How did he sound?” she asked tentatively, almost afraid of the answer. 

“A little rough, not going to lie” said Athena. “Also like he was a few drinks in.” A pang of guilt hit Persephone. Everything she did today was just leading to more hurt. “I made you some tea!” announced Athena cheerily, and Persephone noticed the steaming mug on the coffee table. 

“Thank you” said Persephone with an appreciative smile. She picked up the mug. It was still too hot to drink, but holding the hot mug in her hands felt very comforting. 

“So I know you asked me not to ask questions, but I need to ask some questions” said Athena. Persephone nodded, she figured this would happen. 

“I will do my best to answer you” said Persephone, as that was all she could do.

“So have you been staying in the Underworld this whole time?” asked Athena. 

“Yes” answered Persephone. She hazarded a sip of her tea. It was still really warm, but not hot enough to burn her. “Ever since the first day of autumn.” Athena considered for a moment, tilting her head back and forth like she was physically weighing things in her mind.

“And I’m guessing you guys had a fight or something?” she asked next. 

“Or something” replied Persephone. Fight implied a longer, and probably louder, conversation then they had had. Once again, Athena considered the answer carefully.

“He really loves you” she said next. Persephone was expecting another question, so the statement surprised her at first.

“I really love him too” said Persephone. There was a strange comfort in saying those words out loud in that moment. It’s not like she had forgotten that fact, and yet saying it somehow still felt like a reminder. She loved him, and that meant they could get through this.

“I’m really glad to hear that” said Athena with a smile. She then started to look a little uncomfortable. “Hades also asked me if… if you were coming back.” Once again Persephone replayed the events from earlier that evening in her mind. _Oh no, he didn’t me leaving meant I was leaving leaving, did he?_

“What did you tell him?” asked Persephone, her pulse starting to quicken. 

“I told him I assumed so since you only asked to stay for the night” replied Athena. “You are planning on going back, right?”

“Of course I am!” said Persephone. “I just needed some space to work out some things, I would never-!” Athena held up a gentle hand, stopping Persephone’s ramp up before it could really get started.

“I had to ask” said Athena calmly. “You shouldn’t feel guilty for taking some space” she said, reacting to the expression on Persephone’s face. “I’m a big advocate for taking some cool off time when you’re in a conflict with your partner.” Once again, Persephone smiled appreciatively at Athena, but her guilt was not totally assuaged. 

“I’m going to grab my phone” announced Persephone. She found her purse where she had dropped in the front hall. She dug her phone and then headed back into the living room, folding herself back into the comfy chair. Sure enough, there were several missed calls from Hades as well as a bunch of missed texts. Her stomach gave a lurch. 

“Hey, I think I’m going to order some pizza, you want anything?” asked Athena.

“No thanks, I’m not hungry” replied Persephone as she unlocked her phone and opened up her text messages.

“Great, so spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and extra cheese, right?” said Athena, and Persephone looked up in surprise and confusion, then she smiled, appreciating Athena’s desire to take care of her, albeit in spite of her.

“Sounds perfect” said Persephone, and then Athena stood and headed to grab her own phone, giving Persephone’s head an affectionate pat as she walked by. Once she left, Persephone went back to the text messages.

**Hades <3: I am so sorry, please come back.**

**Hades <3: Can you call me back please? I just want to talk.**

**Hades <3: I need to know you’re safe, please just call me.**

**Hades <3: Or just text? I’m very worried.**

**Hades <3: Okay, I just got off with Athena. **

**Hades <3: I know you need space. Please call me when you can.**

Each text message was heartbreaking. Persephone’s finger hovered over the call button. She wanted to talk to him, to apologize for worrying him, to tell him everything was alright, that she would be home tomorrow. Hearing his voice though, it would have her running back to him tonight, she knew that. She still needed to sort things out, and gain a clear head, and that would be much easier to do here. She pulled up the keyboard instead.

**Sweetness: I am so so very sorry for worrying you, love. I’m safe at Athena’s.**

She paused for a moment, staring down at her phone. She was trying to figure out how to put the next part into words.

**Sweetness: I am also very sorry about how I left. I was very upset, and I realize now how it must have looked to you. I love you, and I promise I’m coming back. I will always come back to you.**

Persephone always got a certain feeling inside her body when she landed on a truth. She had that feeling as she sent that message. She would always come back to Hades, and the truth of that resonated deep in her bones. Suddenly Persephone’s phone showed that both of her messages had been read. Then the little bubble popped up, showing that Hades was typing. Persephone waited with baited breath for his message to come through.

**Hades <3: I should be the one apologizing, not you.**

The typing bubble didn’t go away, Hades was typing another message. She was afraid of what the next message might be. As much as she was feeling better, she still was not ready to have this conversation tonight, not in the state either of them was in. Persephone typed furiously to beat him to the punch.

**Sweetness: We’ll talk about everything tomorrow, I promise. Tonight, I just need you to know that I love you**

The typing bubble disappeared for a moment, and Persephone knew Hades was reading her message. Then the bubble came back, and then it went away again. This happened several times, and Persephone could imagine Hades was typing and erasing his messages over and over again. Eventually, a simple message came through.

**Hades <3: I love you too.**

After reading that Persephone put her phone on the table, taking a deep breath to calm the anxiety that had started running through her. She was sure she was doing the right thing by keeping her distance tonight, but she hated how hard it was.

When the pizza arrived, her and Athena ate in the kitchen. Athena was right, pizza was exactly what Persephone needed. She didn’t notice how hungry she was until she started eating, and nothing calms the nerves better than carbs covered in cheese. As they ate, Athena told her all about her latest campaign, animatedly recounting strategies she designed and how they were implemented on the battlefield. The conversation was a welcome distraction to Persephone’s inner turmoil. Athena liked to go to bed early, and Peresphone decided to go to bed at the same time. She hoped a good night sleep would help her clear her head, and she hoped she would actually get one.

***

_She was sitting on the ground in the middle of the greenhouse, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was staring up at the sky, watching the stars. They were so beautiful, like a thousand diamonds adorning the night sky. Her eyes widened in wonder as a comet shot by. She rarely saw them. She wished, as one did on a shooting star, that she would one day have the privilege of gazing upon the stars with the obstruction of glass._

_“Splendid one…”_

_Her head snapped over to the right hand wall where the red eyes and the taunting smile were lurking. She sighed._

_“You again” she said with a slight bit of annoyance in her voice._

_“Me again” said the voice._

_“What are you doing here?” she asked. She didn’t know why she asked, it’s not like the voice had ever once given her a straight answer._

_“Just checking in” said the voice, the tone light. “Come here.” She sighed, but didn’t move, not wanting to give the voice the satisfaction. “Please, Splendid one...” the voice purred. She sighed again, more heavily this time, and then complied. She stared directly into those crimson eyes as they looked her up and down, a sinister sneer stretching across those despicable lips. She wouldn’t shudder, she wouldn’t give the voice the satisfaction. “Look at you” cooed the voice. “Such a pretty little butterfly in a pretty little cage.”_

_That was it, she had had quite enough of this. She was tired of the taunting and the teasing. She was tired of the presumptuousness, of the arrogance, of the condescension. She opened her mouth, ready to give this creature a piece of her mind, but before she could speak her eyes were drawn to the horizon. There was a light there, an intense orange light that did not belong. Even against the night sky she could see the black clouds of billowing smoke._

_“There’s a fire over there” she said quietly, her eyes fixated on the distant flames. The voice turned to look._

_“Oh yes, it’s been burning for quite some time now” said the voice casually. She was shocked at the sheer nonchalance in the face of a raging fire. Faint screams began to reach her ears._

_“People are dying!” she said, unable to understand how the voice was not taking this seriously._

_“People die all the time” said the voice, an unimpressed frown on its lips._

_“Someone needs to help them!” she cried. The eyes turned back to her, practically burning._

_“What does it matter to you?” asked the voice accusingly. “I thought you were content with this meager existence.”_

_“No!” she screamed and slammed her fists against the glass wall of the greenhouse, a fruitless attempt to reach the source of the screaming._

_Something wasn’t right though. The eyes were staring at the place where her fists connected with the glass, and a smile played on those lips._

_“Well, well, well” breathed the voice. “What a twist.” She pulled her hands back to see what the voice was talking about._

_There were two cracks in the glass, exactly where her fists had struck._

_She was filled with a sudden and urgent sense of determination. She began pounding on the glass as hard as she could, watching as the cracks got bigger and bigger each time. She spoke in time with her pounding, each word punctuated by a strike on the glass._

_“I!” Hit. “Will!” Hit. “No!” Hit. “Longer!” Hit. “Stand!” Hit. “IDLE!”_

_She screamed the last word of her declaration, and as she did the glass finally shattered, the sound of it filling the night. Shards of glass littered the ground, some had even fallen into her hair. She stood there for a moment, rooted to the spot, looking cautiously back and forth at the outside world. Then she stepped over the threshold of the greenhouse and into the welcome embrace cool outside air. A wild smile settled on her lips. She had taken back her freedom, she had taken back her power, and it was exactly what she deserved_

_“Welcome back, Splendid one” said the voice. From outside the greenhouse she could see the form of the mysterious being more clearly, but it was still just an outline. It raised a hand and pointed to something a little ways away. “I believe those belong to you.”_

_She looked over to see what it was pointing at, and so a wooden chest sitting on the ground. It was made of oak, and the hinges and handle was made of simple cast iron. It looked old and sturdy. She knelt down in front of it and lifted the lid. There were three items in the box._

_The first was a sickle, an object she was quite familiar with already, albeit something she more often associated with mama. There was something about this one though, something that called to her. When she picked it up she found the handle fit perfectly into her hand, as if designed for her. This was hers._

_The second was a fruit, a pomegranate to be precise. It was the brightest coloured pomegranate she had ever seen in her life. It was very ripe, the intoxicating smell of it hitting her nose already. She picked it up, and her fingernail accidentally pierced the skin, causing a trail of deep red juice to run down her arm._

_The third was a crown, but not like any crown she had ever seen before. Like the hardware on the chest, it too was made of cast iron. Yet it was delicate, the points on it so thin and sharp looking she thought that if she touched one, it would pierce her. She placed the crown on her head, and it fit perfectly there._

_“They’ll call you Dread Queen, you know” said the voice, inches from her ear. She smiled a wicked smile._

_“They’ll be right.”_

***

Three days until Spring.

Persephone did not wake with a start, or a shock, or a gasp that morning. She woke easily, peacefully, softly batting the sleep from her eyes, and allowing the warm sunlight pouring through the window to gently guide her into consciousness. It was such a contrast to how she normally woke from these nightmares. She supposed it made sense though, since this one wasn’t a nightmare. 

Persephone stretched before she sat up, and her foot hit something solid towards the food of the bed. She sat up to see a large, black, mound taking up most of the bottom part of Athena’s spare bed. Oddly enough, Persephone was not confused or surprised by this.

“Hey there boy” she said, and Cerberus raised his head. “Did your master send you to me?” she asked. Persephone leaned forward and started petting him, paying special attention to rub behind his ears. “No, I think you came on your own, just for me.” Cerberus stuck out his tongue and gave her hand a gentle puppy kiss. 

There was a mirror hanging on the wall of Athena’s spare bedroom. As Persephone continued to pet Cerberus she caught her reflection. Her eyes were crimson in colour, something that she knew happened when she felt angry or enraged, but she didn’t feel that way now. She felt settled, grounded, _powerful_. Her slips stretched into a smirk, and suddenly she recognized the face she saw in the mirror.

“What a twist” she breathed.

She heard the sound of the door open and close downstairs, and her eyes faded back to their original colour. She got up to see who it was, and Cerberus followed. When she got to the top of the stairs she saw Athena putting away her jacket as if she was just getting home.

“Good morning sleepy head” said Athena cheerily when she saw Persephone. “And good morning to you too Cerberus.” Cerberus huffed at her, and Athena gave him a little bow of her head. Persephone smiled apologetically, realizing that Athena had signed up for one house guest, not two.

“Sorry about him” said Persephone. “He must have shown up sometime in the night.”

“Oh, it’s no problem” said Athena. “I’m fairly convinced that dog is smarter than me, so I’m not about to argue with him.” Was it just Persephone, or did Cerberus look smug? “Come on, I’ll make you some breakfast.” 

Persephone hadn’t realized she was hungry until Athena mentioned food, and then all of a sudden she was starving. Her and Cerberus bounded down the stairs and followed Athena into the kitchen. Persephone took a seat at the kitchen table and Cerberus curled up at her feet.

“This does explain why he wasn’t home this morning though” said Athena, her head in the fridge. “Cerberus, I mean.”

“Were you in the Underworld?” asked Persephone. Suddenly she realized she had no idea what time it was. She looked over at the clock in Athena’s kitchen. She was shocked to see it was just after 11am. She had slept for almost 13 hours.

“I went to go make sure the dogs didn’t eat Hades in lieu of breakfast” said Athena, a lighthearted smile on her face as she pulled eggs, onions, peppers, and cheese out of the fridge. “This good for an omelet?” she asked, indicating to the ingredients in her arms. Persephone nodded.

“How was he?” asked Persephone, her stomach preemptively clenching.

“Not as bad as I thought he would be” replied Athena, and Persephone relaxed. “I mean, still super hungover, and definitely not going into work today, but I have seen him worse.” Athena started chopping vegetables. “He was asking about you.”

“What did you tell him?” asked Persephone. Athena fished a frypan out from one of her cupboards and placed it on the stove.

“I told him that as far as I knew you were going back today so he needed to get his shit together” replied Athena. Athena didn’t swear too often, so hearing those words come out of her mouth made Persephone giggle. Athena started placing ingredients in the heated pan. Persephone’s stomach grumbled as the kitchen began to fill with the smell of delicious omelet. It didn’t take long for it to cook, and soon Athena was placing a plate in front of Persephone and she was digging in.

“This is wonderful, thank you!” said Persephone, although it was slightly muffled as her mouth was full.

“Anytime” said Athena. She let Persephone have a few more bites before she kept talking. “So you seem to be feeling better this morning.”

“I am!” said Persephone excitedly. “This is the clearest my head has been in… well… honestly, in the last 2 years of my life!”

“Glad to hear it” said Athena, raising the glass of water she had brought over for herself in a sort of toast.

“I’m wondering if you can help me though, with some strategy” said Persephone, still shoving omelet into her mouth. “I know what I want, and I know what I’m going to do… but there’s a lot of moving pieces in this and I would appreciate you going over it with me.”

“So I’m guessing this is more than just a lover’s quarrel?” asked Athena.

“A lot more” replied Persephone. Athena’s eyes lit up and a determined smile formed on her lips. 

“Lay it on me, Petal Power.”

***

Persephone filled Athena in on the whole situation, telling her the whole story, giving special attention to the last few days. Eros had been right, Athena needed to be filled in on a lot she had missed while on campaign. Athena asked a lot of questions, making sure she totally understood every angle. Persephone was starting to put together a lot of things she hadn’t realized before, patterns she hadn’t noticed, similarities she had been blinded to, feelings she had tried to ignore. Persephone even told Athena about the dream she had had last night, although she didn’t tell her all of it. She left out the last part with the three objects in the chest. Hades deserved to hear about that before anyone else. 

Once that was done, they started strategizing. Persephone was realizing that not only were there a lot of moving parts, there was also a decent amount up in the air at the moment. Hades must have looked at the file on her laptop once she left, so he now knew what Persephone was aware of, but Zeus certainly had no clue. Not to mention she had no idea how that meeting between Zeus and Hades ended. Really, Zeus would only be a problem if he _commanded_ Persephone to do anything. They hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Then, of course, there was Demeter, who was a bit of wild card. A powerful, wrathful, and fiercely protective wild card. While her reaction could be predicted fairly easily, the when of it was still up in the air. Not to mention there was still so much Persephone had to discuss with Hades as well. Any plans she and Athena were coming up with had to have contingencies on contingencies on contingencies, which filled Athena with glee to discuss, but was tying Persephone’s stomach into knots.

It was early evening when Cerbereus started to whine, snapping the two Goddesses out of the planning trance they had been in all day. Persephone’s head snapped up, looking at the Guardian who was staring at, very concerned.

“What’s wrong boy?” she asked, and Cerberus looked over at Persephone’s phone which was sitting on the coffee table. A second later, her phone started to ring. Persephone went over to grab it, and when she saw the caller ID, she was not surprised by Cerberus’ reaction. It was Hecate. 

Persephone’s heart started to race, and a sweat broke out over her brow. Did she find her? Or was this just an update? Her finger hovered over the button, shaking slightly. Athena noticed the expression on her face and headed over. Persephone pursed her lips, pushed her nerves away, and answered the phone.

“Hello Hecate” said Persephone, her voice much steadier than she thought it was going to be.

“I’m going to cut right to the chase, honey” said Hecate. “I found her.” Persephone’s heart gave a lead while her stomach dropped simultaneously. 

“That was fast” was all she managed to say. After being missing for 6 months, Persephone didn’t expect Hecate to find her in basically 24 hours.

“Well, I did have help” replied Hecate. “I went to Helios. As an all-seeing primordial Sun God, he knew exactly where she was.” Of course! It made so much sense! But…

“Why didn’t anyone think of that before?” asked Persephone. 

“They might have, but Helios isn’t exactly the biggest fan of the Six, or any Olympians for that matter” said Hecate. This was true. Helios might serve Zeus now, but was certainly not happy about it. He was well known to do his job, only his job, and nothing else. Hecate then continued, her voice now much more tender, almost cracking with emotion. “Listen… hon… I tried, I really did…”

“Just tell me what happened” said Persephone, speeding through her words. 

“When I found her, I begged her to come back, but of course she said she wouldn’t until she found you” said Hecate. “I told her you were safe, I told her you were happy, I even told her you were the one who sent me to find her, but-” Hecate paused, and Persephone could hear her take a deep breath on the other end of the phone. “She demanded to know where you were… and that’s when Helios chimed in…”

“Helios? What would he know?” asked Persephone, very confused. She had been in the Underworld, away from the sun. In fact, the last time she saw the sun was… shit…

“He saw Hades take you” said Hecate as soon as Persephone realized it as well. She remembered the sun just peeking out from the top of the horizon, the soft glow of early morning light illuminating the determined, feverish look in Hades’ eyes right before he pulled her close.

“And how did that go?” asked Persephone, in a low, strained tone. She already knew the answer, but she still needed to hear it.

“Not well” said Hecate, her voice slightly higher pitched than Persephone was used to hearing from her. “In fact, she was absolutely furious.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised” said Persephone, although it did nothing to lessen the tightness in her body.

“Helios didn’t exactly help either” said Hecate. Persephone didn’t think her stomach could drop any further, but apparently it did. “Although, bless his heart, I think he was trying.”

“Oh Gods, what happened?” asked Persephone.

“Well, Helios is a little old fashioned, so when he saw Hades take you, he assumed he _took_ you… you know, as his bride” said Hecate. “He tried to tell Demeter that perhaps it was not the worst fate for her daughter. Being married to a King means you would be a Queen, well taken care of, very powerful, but it was not what she wanted to hear…”

“Especially since we’re not even married!” said Persephone, her voice rising.

“And I tried to tell her that” said Hecate quickly. “I tried to tell her that it was your choice to stay, that you were free to leave at any time… but I don’t think she heard me over the shrieking that ensued.” Persephone sighed heavily. Of course, her mother would be more inclined to believe that a big bad monster had stolen her sweet innocent daughter away rather than listen to reason. “She transferred away not long after that” said Hecate.

“Do you know where she went?” asked Persephone.

“Not the Underworld, I can tell you that much” said Hecate. “Transfering between the Mortal Realm and the Underworld is heavily regulated, even Thanatos and Hermes have to take the long way. My best guess would be Olympus, especially since the last thing she said before transferring away was calling Zeus a ‘bloody fucking liar’.”

After her strategy session with Athena, Persephone wasn’t entirely surprised that her mother was going to Zeus. It was a distinct possibility, but it didn’t make hearing it any easier. If she went to Zeus, she would demand the Zeus order Persephone back to the Mortal Realm, and right now she had enough leverage that Zeus would probably do it. She was at the mercy of others expectations and decisions, and it made her feel entirely powerless. She only felt that way for a split second though, as something else took its place.

“Thank you Hecate” she said in a calm, steady voice. “I am deeply grateful for all that you’ve done for me.” Then she hung up, not waiting for Hecate’s response.

Athena was frantically asking questions, desperately wanting to know what Hecate had said. To Persephone though, her voice was very far away. She could see Athena’s mouth moving, but the words weren’t connecting at all. 

Persephone had always had a strained relationship with her powers. Things either required lots of concentration and were difficult to manifest, or were easy to do but wildly uncontrollable. She often felt like she was at the mercy of her powers, which caused her to develop a huge amount of fear and shame around them. No wonder whenever her true power manifested it came out in short, violent bursts that left her completely drained.

This, though, felt entirely different. The power that was flooding through her now felt grounded and electric, all at the same time. It was ancient, and alive. It belonged to her, connecting her to the beginning of the Universe, the end of all things, and everything in between. She no longer felt like a being with power, she _was_ power, temporarily taking the shape of a being. She was entirely in control, more in control than she had ever felt in her entire life. She was whole.

“You have been most kind to me Athena” she said, looking at her friend. The appearance of Persephone’s primal power had caused Athena to adopt a wide eyed and wonder-filled expression, her mouth stretched into a joyful and awed smile. “I believe though, it is time for me to return home.”

“By home… do you mean the Mortal Realm?” asked Athena, a slight bit of caution in her voice. Persephone smiled, and Cerberus came to sit next to her. Perhaps Athena thought that Persephone had adopted this form in order to go right her mother’s destruction immediately. She was mistaken.

“Eventually” said Persephone, her form already starting to shift into the voice. “But first, I must return home.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We start with angst, then it's very NSFW, then we end with fluff.

Hades was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, feeling like total shit.

No, that wasn’t true. Last night he felt like total shit. Now, he felt like partial shit.

He was grateful for Athena, both for what she was doing for Persephone and for lovingly reading him the riot act that morning. It was because of her that he was showered, dressed, hydrated, fed, and sober. Although admittedly it had not been easy. Going about his day brought on pangs of guilt, shame, fear, anxiety, and the urge to drown those emotions with another glass of scotch. Each time that happened, Hades pulled out his phone and looked at the texts he had gotten from Persephone. The promise of her return kept him moving, and when she returned, he needed to be in a good state in order to talk to her. She deserved that much from him. Yet the longer he waited, the harder that was getting.

At first he tried to work, but his mind kept wandering back to the file sitting on Persephone’s laptop.

Then he tried to read, but he couldn’t seem to focus on the words on the page.

He thought about going for a drive, or taking the dogs for a walk, but he wanted to make sure he was here when Persephone came back.

He went for a swim, and that helped a little.

His next thought was to do laundry, thinking it might be worth it to change the sheets and tidy up some of the clothes that had ended up strewn across the bedroom. He never got there though.

The bedroom was the one room in the house that had changed the most since Persephone had come to live with him. Before, this room had been immaculately organized. All of his clothes were always ironed and put away, the bed always made, the laundry always in the hamper, and the room, on the whole, rather devoid of colour. How things were different now.

Persephone’s side of the closet, as well as her dresser, while not un-organized, looked like a mess compared to Hades’. Clothes were haphazardly folded and shoved into drawers. Hangers stuck out at weird angles as she pulled the clothes from the closet. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to how the clothes were hung up. The bed was rarely made nowadays too, Persephone stating that there was no point to making the bed, as they were just going to mess it up again anyway. Her clothes were often strewn about the room, having been removed in a hurry and flung away, rarely ever making it to the hamper. It was never excessive, never getting out of hand, but so different then how things had been. Then there was the flower petals, the small burst of colour that always seemed to be everywhere. No matter how much he vacuumed, they always seemed to be around. These little things had often become a point of teasing between the two of them.

_How can someone so organized be such a slob?_

_I’m not a slob! I’m just not as uptight as you._

_How is it uptight to want the laundry to end up in the hamper?_

_I’m sorry, I usually have other things on my mind while taking off my clothes._

He smiled as he remembered these little “arguments”, which were always full of giggles and smiles, and usually ended with her in his arms. Then a thought occurred to him, a thought he thought what felt like a lifetime ago.

_I would pay you a salary to barge in on every single aspect of my life._

So he didn’t do the laundry. He didn’t put her clothes in the hamper. He didn’t touch the flower petals that were scattered on her dresser. He didn’t make the bed. He didn’t change the sheets. Instead he laid on the bed, inhaling the sweet scent of her that lingered on the pillows. This was the mark she had left on his life, and it felt like being alive. 

But the waiting was agony. It was wearing on him more than he liked. Each passing minute as he lay here felt like an eternity. Doubts began to creep into his mind. Perhaps she wasn’t coming back after all. The thought of that was devastating. But not as devastating as little voice in the back of his mind that didn’t blame her for staying away. How could he have ever thought that he deserved the love of a Goddess like her?

His phone started to vibrate, and he made a frantic move to grab it. Text messages were coming in fast and furiously, all from Athena.

**Little Owl: Look sharp, you’ve got incoming.**

**Little Owl: PS she’s transferring, not driving.**

**Little Owl: PPS she’s in her primal form?????**

**Little Owl: PPPS she left your car here**

His phone kept vibrating, but Hades tossed it away onto the bed. If she was truly transferring here, that would take a lot of power, she would be drained. And why was she in her primal form? What did that mean? What was happening? What-?

This internal questioning was interrupted by an odd sight happening outside of his bedroom door. He could see the walls of the hallway through the open door, and could see thick, dark green vines crawling their way down the hall. He rushed out of the bedroom, and found the entire hallway was covered in vines, flowers, fungi, and it was continuing to grow, crawling farther into the house. The source of the growth seemed to be coming from downstairs, so he headed there, traipsing through the jungle that was now his house. Cerberus passed him on the way, giving him a knowing look that was much too intelligent for a dog to have. He didn’t make it all the way down the stairs before stopping dead in his tracks, completely awestruck by the Goddess standing in the middle of his living room.

Hades had only seen Persephone in her primal form once before, in the conference room during her confrontation with Apollo. She had been incredible, and wrathful, and the power of it whirled around in barely controlled chaos. The entire room vibrated with the sheer force of it, and her hold on it was dependent on the singular goal of punishing he who sought to take her power away. There were certainly similarities between that Goddess and the one who stood before him now, but this one was so much more.

She was standing with his back to him, completely naked, standing in the middle of the living room, the vines that were taking over the house emanating from below her bare feet. Her hair was long, and a crown of ivy had graced her head. Once again tree branches had grown from her back like wings. Her shoulders and hips were covered in dark green leaves with dots of golden yellow, laden with pollen. Her entire body glowed, just it had the last time, but the chaos that surrounded her last time was replaced with a sense of groundedness he had never felt in her before. He could smell the earthy scents of moist soil and moss, as well as the heady aromas of roses and honeysuckle. She was the embodiment of life, growth, fertility, sexuality, divinity. He wanted to go to her, he wanted to worship her, he wanted _her_. 

Persephone turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder. Arousal surged through him, like a shiver through his entire body, causing heat to spread to his loins. He could see her eyes now, and the glow that came off of them. He had seen them red, and he had seen them white, but now her eyes had a pinkish glow to them, the same way his pupils had a blueish glow in his own primal form.

“Hello there” she said, her voice low, seductive, and resonating with power.

“Hi” he said. It was a lame response, but he was so overwhelmed by the sight of her that he was surprised he could speak at all. 

“Do you like what I’ve done with the place?” she asked, although the question seemed rhetorical. She raised a hand and in a fizz of light a shower of pink flower petals erupted in the air. “This house just didn’t look enough like me.”

“I couldn’t agree more” he said. The vines covering the stairs began to move around him, as if they were alive. They caressed him, teased his already painfully hard erection, nipped at his clothing, even pushed him down the stairs. “I’m guessing we’re not talking tonight” he said. It was a strange thing to say in this context, but he needed to know, he needed to hear her say it out loud. She turned to face him completely then, and he regarded the stunning creature who stood before him. The swell of her large breasts, the lush foliage covering her hips and shoulders, the tangle of curls on her mound, the expression of wanton desire on her face.

“I suppose I did promise” she said, a slight loftiness to her voice. The vines continued to tease as he made his way down the stairs towards her. “But I don’t particularly feel like talking right now.” 

“I can see that” he said, unable to stop himself from staring at the wetness between her thighs. He could see how it coated her curls, how she was swollen with anticipation and need. 

He was momentarily distracted by one of the vines, which had managed to reach underneath his shirt in an attempt to pull it off. He struggled against the odd sensation, but gave in to its goal, taking off his shirt and throwing it aside. Persephone let out a delighted chuckle.

“They want you” she said, and as she did another vine went for the waist on his trousers. Hades decided to do what they wanted, partially because he didn’t want the vines to get any more forceful with him, and partially because he was dying to be free of any barriers between him and Persephone. 

“They’re _you_ ” he said to her, his voice teasing. He removed his trousers and his underwear at once, his cock glad to be free of its bonds. Persephone smiled wickedly as he did, showing her now pointed teeth, spurring his desire once again.

“I want you” she said. He was in front of her now, but still a few feet away, her glowing eyes seemed to be bearing deep into his soul. She didn’t move to him though, waiting for him to come to her completely. 

“I have always found it unwise to deny a Goddess in her primal form” he mused as he closed the gap between them.

“Do you intend to deny me?” she asked. They were inches apart, but still not touching. 

“I wouldn’t dream of it, L-” he almost called her ‘Little Goddess’, but he stopped himself. There was nothing little about her tonight. “My Goddess. I am many things, but I am not that foolish.” 

“Then give me what I desire” she breathed. He moved to kiss her, but she quickly moved her hand to his lips, stopping him, much to his confusion. “Give me my God” she said, and he understood. He felt himself changing as primal power flooded through every cell in his body, connecting him to the sheer, unbridled force of the Universe. 

“There you are” said Persephone, her lips stretched into a gleeful smile as she looked at him. It ignited a raging fire inside of him, and he couldn’t take the waiting anymore.

In his own primal form his need for her was undeniable and overwhelming. He grabbed her by the waist at the same time as she grabbed his shoulders in a ferocious need to get close. Finally his lips were on hers. He was so delirious with need as his tongue hungrily sought hers, and she responded in kind, pressing herself against him with a sort of reckless intensity. He could feel his cock brushing the edge of her centre. It was driving him wild, and her guttural moans were telling him he was not alone. He wanted to take what he wanted, while giving her exactly what she needed. 

He pinned her up against the nearest wall, the force of his body pressed up against her holding her there. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he could feel her heels dig into his ass, spurring him on even further. His mouth moved from her lips and he started kissing down her neck, sucking hard. When he got to her collarbone he nipped at her, and she let out high pitched squeal in pleasure and anticipation.

“I need you” she begged, panting. He smiled against her skin, Gods, he loved it when she begged. He wasn’t about to make her wait any longer, he needed her just as badly. 

She cried out as he slipped inside her, burying himself deep in her centre. He let out an involuntary moan at the sudden rush of sensation, being totally enveloped in her warm, tight passage. She was so wet, and he thrust inside her with reckless abandon. Her nails, which felt like claws, were digging into his back. It teatered just on that edge between pleasure and pain, and it felt _incredible_.

“Oh fuck yes, my Goddess” he growled. He thrust deep inside of her, wanting to become one with her. He had never been so connected to another being in his entire life, and he was almost light-headed with the pleasure of it, the pleasure she was giving him. Her body was shuddering underneath him, already so close to her climax, but not quite there yet.

“Don’t stop” she moaned, her voice low and shaking. It felt like she was clutching onto him for dear life, and it excited him to no end.

“ _Never_ ” he said, although it came out more like a groan. His lips found hers again, and he let his sharp teeth nibble on her bottom lip. She let out an animalistic cry like he had never heard before as she orgasmed. Her body spasmed against him and her already tight sheath convulsed around his cock, sending him over the edge. He let out a roar as his orgasm gripped him, thrusting deeply as he emptied himself inside her. Waves of pleasure crashed over him, and he gave a few more lazy thrusts. She mewled and twitched as he did this, riding the aftershocks of her orgasm. 

His hands were on the wall on either side of her head, and his arms were shaking. Her arms and legs, which were wrapped tightly around him, clinging to him, began to relax. He gently slipped out of her, and she slid down the wall slowly until her feet were back on the floor. He looked down at her, absolutely loving the way she looked up at him seductively through her eyelashes, her eyes still glowing with primal need. Her body was slick with sweat now, and it just made her all the more sexy. His eyes continued downwards, looking at the silver god seed dripping out of her, running down her leg. She looked down to see what he was looking at.

“You made a mess” she said, her tone light, but her smile wicked.

“That I did” he replied. He didn’t care. More than that, the sight of his seed on her felt triumphant somehow. 

“Clean it up” she said. His head snapped up to look into her eyes, both shocked and excited by her command. His lips stretched into a wide grin, and he slowly sunk to his knees in front of her, his hands running down her body in the process. One of his hands paused when he got to her hips, burying his fingers in the lush foliage that had grown there. The other hand went to the inside of her thigh, tracing a finger up the path his seed had left on her. He raised his hand to her lips, and she gleefully took his finger into her mouth, cleaning off the semen that had collected there. She looked right into his eyes as her tongue swirled around his finger, making his still hard cock twitch. He longed to be inside her again, but his Goddess had given him a command.

He pulled his finger from her mouth, and lifted her one leg so it was dangling over his shoulder. He sat back on his heels, but the angle was still off. The height difference between them was just too much for him to easily reach her dripping folds. She seemed to notice, and suddenly a stump grew under her foot that was on the ground, giving her some more height. His other hand was still on her hip, and he held it there, steadying her, making sure she stayed upright, leaning against the wall. He let out a dark chuckle as he adjusted himself to the right position while making sure she was safe and steady.

“Is this what you want, my Goddess?” he crooned. He turned his head to place a sucking kiss on her inner thigh, earning him a guttural moan. He turned back to her centre, being driven mad with need at the scent of her arousal mixed with his. He wanted to concentrate though, to serve her the way she deserved to be served. He gently used his tongue only on her outer folds, cleaning the seed he had left there. He heard a sharp intake of breath, and he looked up to see her biting her lip. “Does my Goddess wish to be worshipped?” he asked. He did not wait for a response. His tongue began to explore her inner folds, thoroughly cleaning up any residual mess he might have left there while simultaneously lapping up her sweet, hot juices.

“It is a privilege, I think, to be worshipped by one so powerful as you” she managed to say through desperate pants. His tongue found the swollen bud of her clit, and she let out a long languid cry as he gently circled it. Then he gave it a hard flick with the tip of his tongue before pulling away.

“The privilege is all mine, oh divine one” he said, staring up at her with burning eyes. Confident that she was steady with his one arm wrapped around her leg over his shoulder, he removed the hand that was on her hip. Then, keeping her gaze, he slid two fingers inside her slick channel, causing a delighted whimper to escape her lips. “I am wondering though if my Goddess would honour me with her blessing” he said while stroking her soft inner walls.

“I cannot give it freely, it must be earned” she said, her voice shaking as he pleasured her. He knew _exactly_ what she meant, and his mouth dove back to her folds. He got as much as his mouth around her as he could with his fingers still pulsing inside of her. “But if this is how you pray, gentle God, then the blessing I give you will be well deserved” she said, her words fast, her voice quivering, her one hand weaving into his hair. His tongue once again found her clit, stroking it from side to side as her cries climbed in both pitch and volume. He could feel her inner muscles gripping at his fingers. He was about to earn his blessing. He released his mouth, but kept his tongue on her, the tip of his tongue drawing circles around her clit, but not touching it directly. He let his hot breath tickle her folds for a moment, and slowed down his fingers inside of her. Then, in a swift motion, took her clit in his lips and sucked while he thrust his fingers deep inside her. The cry she let out was almost feral as her pleasure crashed over her. He continued to suck on her clit as the muscles of her channel convulsed around his fingers. Gods, he loved being inside her when she came. He didn’t stop until the hand in his hair gently pushed him away.

“My my, how honoured I am to receive this blessing” he said, staring up at the expression of divine bliss on his beloved’s face. Her leg gave a twitch, and he took that as a sign to help her move it off of his shoulder. Now, however, due to the stump she had grown to give herself some extra height, she was on uneven footing. Before she had a chance to teater, his hands were on her hips, guiding her towards him, into his lap. She barely landed there before her lips were on his again, kissing him eagerly, hungrily, sucking her own arousal off of them. She was grinding her hips into him, her wet centre stroking against his now painfully hard erection.

“And how may I worship you, my God?” she asked when she pulled away. She did not wait for an answer before her hand moved to his cock, stroking up and down. He let out a groan, and while staring him in the eye her tongue peaked out of her mouth and traced all around her swollen lips. He knew she wanted to use her mouth on him, but there was something else he wanted more.

“Oh, I know what sweet prayers can drip from those lips” he said as he brought his hand to face, his forefinger brushing her bottom lip. She took his finger into her mouth again and began to suck. “But there is another set of dripping lips I desire.” She smiled, and he could feel her sharp teeth dig into his skin, although not hard enough to break it. It was so tantalizing. She released his finger, placed her hands on his shoulders for balance, and began to reposition herself.

“Then you shall have them” she said, and then lowered herself onto him, taking him fully inside of her. 

She began to rock her hips, settling into a slower, more languid rhythm. It was less frantic than before but no less intense. The sensation of being inside of her was unmatched. She kept one hand on his back while the other moved to the back of his head, lacing her fingers through his hair. He kept her gaze the whole time, never wanting to look away from those mesmerizing glowing pink eyes. She would occasionally tighten her inner muscles around his cock causing shockwaves of pleasure to course through him and a strangled cry to fall from his lips. 

The hand on his back tightened its grip, and she back to rock faster, milking her pleasure from him. He kept one hand on the small of her back, but the other moved between them to find her swollen clit.

“Yes!” she cried when he found it, his fingers massaging the hooded bud. She arched back in pleasure, exposing her neck. He couldn’t help himself, his mouth dove on the exposed skin, kissing, sucking, biting, driving her wild. “Oh Hades…”

It was the first time she had used his name all evening. It felt odd to hear. Then he realized it wasn’t the name he wanted to hear.

“Call me Aidoneus.”

“Yes, Aidoneus” she purred. The sound of that name on her lips filled with a rush of love and desire. He rocked his hips in time with hers, plunging himself deep inside of her, while his fingers continued on her clit. “Yes Aidoneus!” she cried out. She was so close now, he knew it, and he wanted nothing more than to make her explode. He took her clit between his fingers and pinched. “YES!” she cried in ecstasy as her body began to spasm. 

Stars danced across his vision as her final cry had pushed him over the edge. Her entire body seemed to convulse as he emptied himself, still rocking inside of her, riding the last moments of his climax. She mewled and panted as the shaking slowed down and his vision cleared. Her grip on him began to relax, but he was thankful that she didn’t make a move to get off of him. He was enjoying still being inside her, occasionally dolling out another lazy thrust that made her shiver. The hand that had been on the back of his head moved to stroke his cheek.

“Aidoneus” she said, the name sounding like a song on her sweet voice. “My Aidoneus…”

***

Hades and Persephone were lying together on the floor, a bed of soft rose petals underneath them. Their primal forms had long since dissipated, Hades’ skin no longer dancing with stars, Persephone’s wings and the foliage from her curves blowing away and joining the growth in the rest of the house. Persephone was lying against Hades chest, and Hades was gently stroking her back, letting his fingers trail against her spine. He still had a million questions, but he had no molecules for that. Right now, he was simply revelling in the fact that Persephone was here, and back in his arms.

“Is it always like that?” asked Persephone suddenly. Her voice was soft, but it was still a shock against the comfortable silence they had fallen into. She gently pushed herself up against his chest so she could look at him. Her face was so serene and beautiful, and while her eyes no longer glowed as before, they were shining in the moonlight streaming through nearby windows. “Making love in your primal form, I mean” she clarified. Perhaps she took his silence as confusion rather than him being lost in adoration. “Is it always so…” she trailed off, her lips pursing as she tried to think of the word. He could think of many. Intense? Overwhelming? Magical? Intoxicating? “Poetic?” she finally landed on, making him chuckle.

“I suppose we did speak a bit archaically at times” he said. His chuckles died away. “But I uh… I wouldn’t know… I’ve never made love in my primal form before.”

“Why not?” she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. He paused for a moment before he answered her, trying to figure out how to put his feelings on this into words.

“I don’t like to show that side of myself to others” he said finally. “Not unless my intention is to terrify them…” He debated whether to say what was on his mind next, then he decided to admit it. “That form is when I look most like my father.” The words stuck in his throat. They were so hard to say, mostly because he hated that they were true. Persephone’s brow was still furrowed, but now she was looking away from him, concern crossing her face.

“I didn’t mean to…” she said, trailing off again. Now it was Hades’ turn to be confused. “I mean, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable-” Her words caught up to him, and he knew what she was trying to say.

“No, Sweetness” he said, instinctively reaching a hand up to caress her face to comfort her. “When you asked that of me tonight there was no hesitation, no trepidation… all I felt was an intense desire to both give you what you wanted and to be with you fully… I felt… _free_...” The last word landed on him like a long forgotten truth. She smiled at him, and Hades felt satisfied that he had dissuaded her fears. She laid back down on his chest and he resumed the stroking of her back.

“The first time I saw you like that, I thought you were the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on” she said, her head resting against his chest. Hades thought back to that moment, and the thought of that crossing Persephone’s mind confused him.

“Really? You seemed pretty focused on murder to me” he said, remembering having to coax her away from strangling Apollo.

“What?” she said, sounding a little confused. “Oh, right, the conference room…” Once again, Hades was confused. Was he missing something here? “Actually, the first time I saw you like that was at the hospital, remember? When put back the photographer’s eye.” Hades remembered, but he didn’t think she had seen.

“I thought you were hiding in the closet?” he asked.

“I snuck a peak” she admitted, and he didn’t need to see her face to know that she was blushing. “You were breathtaking” she continued. “I was so mesmerized, looking at the way the stars seem to dance across your skin… and maybe I was imagining it, but I swear I saw constellations on you that I’ve seen painted across the night like… like you were the sky…”

Hades was overwhelmed with emotion. He had never heard anyone describe him that way, with such wonder and amazement. He fought back against the voice that told him he didn’t deserve that praise and instead held his wonderful little Goddess tight to him. He had no idea what he had done to deserve her, but he no longer felt like questioning it.

After a moment, a thought occurred to him as he remembered that day in the hospital. “When I found you in that closet afterwards, it looked like a garden centre had exploded” he said, and Persephone somehow sunk deeper against his chest.

“Yeah… about that…” she started, but Hades had already realized what had happened.

“Ms. Kore, did the sight of me make you go primal?” he asked, his tone light and teasing. She raised her head and scrunched up her face, the way she often did when he asked a question they both knew the answer to. Gods, she was adorable. He couldn’t help himself, he started to laugh, and soon enough she joined him. Then she repositioned herself so her face was next to his, and gave him a long, sweet kiss. When she pulled away, she kept her face close to his still, the tips of their noses brushing up against each other. “I love you so much” he said, staring into her magenta eyes. 

“I love you too” she said, and then raised her head just enough so she could kiss the tip of his nose. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, letting his eyes flutter close.

The morning would come soon enough, he knew that, and they would need to have a serious conversation about her mother and the Mortal Realm. But for now, she was in his arms, and that’s all that mattered. For now, they could stay in this moment, just the two of them, and nothing and no one could touch them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple companion songs for this chapter (not required listening). The first is Being Alive from Company. If there are any other musical theatre nerds out there who know Company, I find there are a lot of similarities between the main character Bobby and Hades. The second is Eavesdrop by The Civil Wars which is just a beautiful song and really inspired the last few moments of this chapter.
> 
> Being Alive - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WkzOywmPPU 
> 
> Eavesdrop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wW-0N347Y0


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: depictions of violence.
> 
> I originally wanted to have this chapter up before the official season finale. The Act of Wrath is discussed in this chapter, but it's not the same as canon.

“Hello?... No, he’s still asleep… You can talk to me… You should have involved me from the very beginning… That was my mistake, one I won’t be making again… I’m sorry you had to deal with that… Mhmm… Yes… I understand… No, that won’t be necessary… I’ll be there.”

Two days until Spring.

Hades woke up on the floor, still underneath a bed of rose petals. Persephone was gone however, and instead, JP was cuddling into his side. He could hear the sounds of someone in the kitchen, and the smell of bacon and toast hit his nose. 

He sat up slowly, letting out a low groan as he did. As soft as the rose petals were, sleeping on the floor was not the best choice for his back. He looked over and noticed his black short robe draped over the side of the couch. Persephone must have grabbed for him. He got up, put on the robe, and headed to the kitchen.

Sure enough, he found Persephone there. She had cut her hair at some point, but it looked like she did it in a rush, just lopping it off just above her shoulders. She was wearing her butter yellow silk short robe. The colour looked so delectable against her skin. If this were any other morning, he would have had fun slowly undoing the tie and letting the robe slide off her body, all while placing gentle kisses down her neck and shoulders. Not today though.

Persephone was leaning on the kitchen island, both hands gripping the marble tightly. Her brow was furrowed, and her mouth was a hard line. She was staring at Hades’ phone, which was sitting on the counter. She didn’t look like she had noticed that Hades had come in.

“Who was that?” he asked, and unsurprisingly she jumped at the sound of his voice. 

“I thought you were still asleep” she said, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“I just got up, I heard you on the phone” he said. Persephone gave him a half hearted smile, but then her face dropped and her eyes went wide again.

“Sugar snaps” she exclaimed and turned back towards the stove. She grabbed a pair of tongs and pulled a very dark looking piece of bacon from the pan. “I hope you like extra crispy” she said sheepishly. He watched her as she placed the other pieces of bacon from the pan onto a plate. He knew cooking was calming for her, so he didn’t want to interrupt, but he desperately needed to talk to her. She grabbed two food laden plates off the counter and sat down at the kitchen table, Hades following her. As he sat down she placed his plate in front of him with the very crispy bacon. The bacon was accompanied by a piece of toast with a heart cut out of the centre and an egg cooked in there. It was so sweet, he loved how sweet she was. He reached across the table for her hand and she gave it to him, giving him a warm smile. 

“This looks delicious Sweetness, thank you” he said, still holding her hand, lightly rubbing it with his thumb. 

“It was my pleasure, love” she replied. As wonderful as this moment was, there was tension in the air, and he knew by the look in her eye she could feel it as much as him. The weight of things unspoken was palpable between them, and they both knew they needed to lighten the load. Hades took a deep breath, prying his eyes away from her.

“Who was on the phone?” he asked. She pulled her hand away from his, sliding it back across the table. That one tiny action felt like his heart being ripped out. He wanted to gather her up in his arms and tell her it was all going to be alright. He fought against that impulse. They needed to talk about this, as much as it might hurt.

“Zeus” she replied, her eyes downcast. He had so many questions, but she started speaking again before he had a chance to ask anything. “Hecate found my mother last night, and she was unsurprisingly upset. Apparently she went to go see Zeus who spent a less than pleasant night attempting to calm her down… according to him it didn’t go well…” He was pretty sure she was making a gross understatement, however he didn’t interrupt. “The bottom line is, she’s refusing to do anything to right the current situation, or use her powers at all, until I am returned to her.” Hades didn’t think the pit in his stomach could get any deeper, but as Persephone set those words he was proven wrong. He felt awful thinking he had forced Persephone into this situation, he didn’t think anything could make him feel worse right now. That is, until Persephone continued. “Zeus told me I could either return to the Mortal Realm on the first of Spring on my own, or he would command me to.”

“Fucking bastard” spat Hades, almost without thinking. Zeus didn’t like using his sway on his subjects, and for good reason. The thought of him using it on Persephone turned his stomach. 

“Hey, you know I’m not the biggest fan of your brother but let’s not forget that my mother is literally holding the entire Mortal Realm hostage right now” said Persephone, her voice hard and intense. Hades looked up at her in surprise, it was not a tone he had heard in her voice in a long time. Her jaw was tight, and there was a fire blazing behind her eyes. 

“You’re right” said Hades, seemingly snapping Persephone out of a sort of trance. “I just hate the idea-”

“I know” said Persephone, cutting him off. She gave him a small smile that was full of understanding, and he couldn’t help but return it. “But the reality is, one way or another, I am going back to the Moral Realm in two days… and even if Zeus hadn’t given me that ultimatum, I would go anyway.” She paused, looking at his face carefully. He had to admit, he was saddened by her words, but not surprised. She must have sensed his sadness, because she reached her arm back across the table to take his hand. “It’s spring Hades, it’s who I am” she said in a voice that was almost pleading, like she was begging him to understand. He did understand, of course, but it didn’t make it any easier. “I mean, ignoring my powers has never really gone well for me.” He barked out a laugh at that.

“Now _that_ is an understatement” he said, and she giggled in response, both of them glad for the slight release of tension. After a moment though their smiles faded. Persephone was looking at their hands, their fingers intertwined together, resting on the table. He had to admit, he had never truly marveled at the way their skin tones looked against each other; contrasting, but also seemingly complimentary.

“Before spring comes though, there are things we need to talk about” she said, her voice serious again. “I’ve thought a lot about this over the last little bit-”

“Wait, before you start, can I say something?” asked Hades. He had no idea what she was going to say, but he needed to get this out, just in case he didn’t get another chance. She nodded at him, so he continued. “I just want to say that I’m so sorry for keeping this situation from you. You had every right to know, and I…” His voice began to falter as a wave of emotion gripped him. He couldn’t look at her as he said this, it was too hard. “I kept telling myself I didn’t want to hurt you… but logically I knew that the longer I kept it from you, the more hurt you would be when you finally did find out. The truth is, I was selfish. It was clear to me between the nightmares and everything else that you were having such a hard time here… I thought that if I told you, you would finally leave me and-” He couldn’t speak anymore, the feelings of shame and fear overwhelming him. Tears were streaming freely down his face as he confessed the feelings he had been trying to hide from himself for months. 

Hades felt a gentle hand touch his cheek, and he looked up to see that Persephone had gotten out of her chair and walked over to him, tears in her eyes a well. She moved slowly, placing her hands almost tentatively on his shoulders, and sliding her body closer to his. He was hesitant as he repositioned himself, placing his hands gently on her waist as she positioned herself in his lap. Once she was there she sunk into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, one hand gentle stroking his hair. It was still so overwhelming to him how her touch could make everything so much better, how his insecurities paled in comparison to the feelings of safety and love he felt in her arms. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in even closer to him, so he could feel every inch over her body pressed up against his. Then he tucked his head into her shoulder and began to sob, unable to fight back the tidal wave of emotions any longer.

“I’m sorry” she whispered as she continued to stroke his hair. “I’m so sorry…”

 _What do you have to apologize to me for?_ he tried to say, but he couldn’t.

“I should have known that you could see that I was struggling” she confessed as she held him, her own voice cracking through tears. “Eros even said… but I didn’t want to be a bigger burden and… I was afraid if I told you, you would feel like my struggles were your fault, or worse… but by not telling, that’s exactly how I made you feel, and I’m so sorry!” He could feel her shaking underneath him, so he tried to hold her tighter, if that was even possible. His brain was trying to process her words, coming to terms with the fact that she was just as insecure as he was. He was trying to come up with something to say to make her feel better, to ease her distress by any means necessary, but before he could, she pulled back from him. She moved her hands so they were on either side of his tear stained face, and looked at him with a fierceness in her eyes. “I love you” she said, almost like a declaration, “and there is nothing that you can do or say that can make me stop loving you.”

Hades’ heart felt like it was going to explode out of sheer joy. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he couldn’t. A fresh round of tears began streaming down his face, and all he could do was pull Persephone close again, this time kissing her. He kissed her passionately, albeit a little sloppily, the taste of salt from both of their tears touching his tongue as it grazed against her bottom lip. She melted into him, clinging to him just as tightly as he was clinging to her. Then he pulled away, the part of his brain responsible for coherent thought finally resurfacing against the sea of emotion.

“You’re not a burden” he said, looking at her watery magenta eyes. “I hate to think that I ever made you feel that way, and I am so sorry if I did. I love you so much I…I...I would burn down my Kingdom if you asked it of me.” Persephone’s lips pulled back into a sweet smile, and then she started to giggle. Hades realized that that may have been a little over the top, but it was true. Oh well, he was just glad to see that beautiful smile back on her face, so much so that it caused a smile to creep onto his face as well.

“You can put the matches away” she said, wiping tears away from her face. Then her smile faded, her expression becoming serious again. “Can we just promise each other not to keep any more secrets?” she asked. “Even if… especially if we think what we have to say might hurt the other person.” 

“I promise, Kore” he said, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear as he spoke. She smiled again, her eyes crinkling as she did.

“I promise, Aidoneus” she said. Part of him had forgotten he had asked her to call him that last night. It was such a heat of the moment request. Hearing that name from her this morning filled him with love and comfort, the exact opposite feeling he normally got when he heard it. She kissed him again, this time her lips much softer than they were before. When she broke away she slid out of his lap. He wanted her to stay there, but when he saw the hard, determined expression on her face he knew it was her turn to say her piece, whether he was ready for it or not.

“When I was over at Athena’s, her and I talked a lot about everything that’s happened over the last few months, and from that I realized many things” said Persephone. Hades could tell by the tone of her voice that she had thought carefully about what she was saying. It was his job right now to listen, and let her say what she needed to say. “I was upset that you hid from me the depth of the situation in the Mortal Realm, until I realized that you were only doing what I asked you to do.” Hades cocked his head, confused by her statement. Thankfully she continued. “Not only did I agree to let you handle this for me, but when you brought me here, I basically asked you to hide me away from the world, and that’s exactly what you did. How could I be upset with you for doing exactly as I asked?” Hades’ mind began to wander back to all those early discussions they had had when she first came to live with him, and while he still felt guilty, her words were making sense.

“The truth is, I was upset with myself” she continued. “You know, I talk a big game about wanting to take responsibility for my life, and not wanting people to control me, but what have I really done about it? Nothing. I continued to let other people make choices about my life on my behalf, and I deeply apologize for forcing you into a position where you had to be one of those people.” He had no idea what to say to that, but she kept talking before he even had a chance to respond. “The reality is I have been terrified of my own power, and because of that I retreated inwards and let other people control me, so I didn’t have to risk destroying my life and hurting everyone I love… but I almost did that anyway… so I’m done. I am done sitting idly by, I am done being afraid, and I am done being at the mercy of anyone else, including, and especially myself.” Listening to her declaration made Hades think of last night, of the difference between the Goddess he had met and the one he had known before.

“Last night, when you were in your primal form, you were so different than when I had seen you in it before” he said. “I couldn’t totally put my finger on why, but-”

“It’s because I wasn’t afraid of it anymore” she said, filling in his sentence. She took a long pause then, lost in thought as she seemed to be considering what to say next. “You asked me once how a Goddess goes from being called ‘Kore’ to being called ‘Persephone’. I think it’s time you knew” she said finally, and Hades’ eyes went wide. He had wondered this for so long, and he was desperate to finally know, albeit a little afraid. “I’m not quite sure where to start…” she said, but then a pink glow started to form around her hands. “Perhaps I can show you” she said, holding out her hands to him. Hades stood up and walked over to her, a blue glow starting to form around his own hands. He reached out to her, and as soon as the lights touched, reality slipped away.

***

_Kore was lying on the forest floor, staring up at the small pieces of sky she could see through the thick cover of trees. She felt raw, and empty. She had been crying for a while, she didn’t quite know how long. Her eyes were puffy, her throat was tight, her breath was ragged, and her head was pounding._

_It had been a vicious fight with her mother. The fighting was not uncommon, in fact almost every conversation between her and her mother in the last few weeks had turned into an argument. But this time… this time it had turned nasty. The argument didn’t end because they had come to any resolution, in fact, just the opposite. The argument ended because both goddess had gotten to the point where they were too enraged to form actual words anymore. When that happened, Demeter had turned away from her daughter in utter disgust, and Kore stalked away towards the mountain, tears in her eyes, and seething with unspoken rage that the nymphs were too afraid to follow her._

_She ended up in the forest beyond the mountain, blissfully alone. It was one of the oldest forests on the island, and it had grown savage and wild thanks to the fertile soil of the mountain it grew next to. Lately that forest had felt more like home lately than any place on her mother’s estate. She had gone to the side of the forest that grew closest to the mountain. The ground sloped up here slightly, and the trees seemed to grow even thicker and even more wild._

_After a while she stopped crying, not because she felt any better, but because it seemed she had cried all the tears she had left in her body. She felt totally wrung out, and she didn’t feel like moving. She continued to stare up at the sky, figuring the nymphs would come find her at some point. Until then, she would just lay here, thankful that she was alone._

_She didn’t understand why her mother was so against her living in Olympus when she went to school. This was the age she was supposed to be stepping out, doing things on her own, actually owning a place in society, but her mother was just refusing to let that happen. She knew she was ready, and yet the nasty words were starting to get into her head, making her doubt herself. Maybe she was too naive… maybe she was too weak to stand her own with the Olympian Gods… maybe she was just a stupid village girl…_

_An unexpected sound made Kore sit up sharply. Hurried footfalls and panicked panting disturbed the peaceful soundtrack of the forest. This couldn’t be a nymph, the footsteps were too heavy and too clumsy. Kore stood up, both curious and concerned. This person sounded like they were in distress, high pitched cries punctuated the heavy breathing as the person continued to run. Kore headed towards the sounds, looking for whoever was making those noises. She didn’t know if there was anything she could do, but she knew she needed to help._

_The footsteps stopped, but Kore could still hear the heavy breathing. They must have stopped, or found some place to hide. She looked around and her eyes landed on a small cave that was set into the slope of the mountain. She slowly approached the mouth of the cave, peering into the darkness._

_Sitting on the floor of the cave, her arms wrapped around her knees, was a young mortal woman, no older than 14. She looked disheveled, twigs sticking out of her dark brown curly hair, her peplos was ripped and hanging off of one shoulder. There was a cut on her cheek, and an angry red mark surrounded it, like she had been slapped so hard it actually broke skin. Her amber coloured eyes were wide and fearful. She seemed fixated on the left side of the cave entrance, so much so that she seemed completely unaware of Kore peering in on the opposite side. That was, until she caught the Goddess in the corner of her eye._

_“AH!” screamed the girl, and her entire body gave a violent shake in fright._

_“Sorry!” said Kore, throwing her hands up. She stepped out so the girl could see her fully, but did not make a move to enter the cave._

_“Please don’t hurt me Goddess!” cried the girl, tucking her head into her knees, cowering in fear._

_“I’m not going to hurt you” said Kore gently. The girl was so frightening, Kore wanted nothing more than to take some of that away. She dropped to her knees, hoping being on the girl’s level would calm her down a little._

_“You’re not?” asked the girl hesitantly, picking her head up just a little._

_“I want to help you” said Kore, inching closer to the girl. The girl’s shaking lessened, and she sat up, looking at Kore fully. “Tell me why you’re so frightened.” There was a long pause as the girl considered the Goddess, and then she burst into tears._

_“Oh gentle Goddess, please, I need your protection” sobbed the girl. “I live in the village on the other side of this mountain. I’ve run away from my home, and now my father’s men are hunting me to try to bring me back!” Kore felt so sad for her, her heart breaking._

_“Why did you run away?” asked Kore. The girl looked down when Kore asked the question, looking somehow more uncomfortable than before._

_“I was violated by a man staying in my father’s house” she said, her voice shaking as she spoke. “He claims that I wanted him, but I didn’t, I swear!” She lunged towards Kore, moving onto her hands and knees, her voice desperate and pleading._

_“I believe you” Kore assured the girl, her voice tender. The girl nodded at her, and then continued._

_“My father says I’ve ruined our family, and now he wants to sell me into slavery” said the girl, and Kore couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew mortals didn’t have a very high opinion of girls and women, but how could a father sell his daughter into slavery because of another man’s actions? This girl’s freedom was being taken away from her, all because of circumstances outside of her control. It disgusted Kore, and more than that, it enraged her._

_Their conversation was interrupted by more footsteps, and this time it was clear it was several people. Both Kore’s and the girl’s head snapped to the mouth of the cave. Then the girl turned back to Kore, and threw herself down at the Goddess’ feet._

_“Please, gentle Goddess, please help me, I’ll do anything, I’ll serve you until the end of time, please!” begged the girl. She didn’t need to, Kore had already decided._

_“Don’t worry” said Kore, and when the girl looked up her eyes went wide again, but this time for a different reason. Kore’s eyes had turned scarlet. “I will take care of you. Just stay here, and don’t make a sound.” The girl nodded vigorously, and then Kore left the cave._

_It didn’t take long to find the group of men tracking down the girl, they were making quite a bit of noise as they clamoured through the forest. There were six of them, more than enough to take in a small mortal girl, but no match for the wrathful Goddess they were about to encounter. Kore made sure not only to position herself so she was between them and the cave, but also so that she was higher up the mountain than they were._

_“Gentlemen” she called when they got close enough. They all stopped in the tracks and looked up at her. Some were shocked, some looked aw strucks, others looked confused. “Go back to your homes, you have no business here!”_

_“Please Goddess” called the man that was closest to her. “We are in search of a girl, perhaps you’ve seen her?”_

_“Your quarry is lost to you” said Kore. Her voice was deeper than she could ever remember it being, and she started to feel power run through._

_“I thought she came this way” said one of the men to another. One of the men, the oldest of the group, was staring at Kore with narrowed eyes, almost as if he was suspicious of her._

_“Gentle Goddess” called the first man again. “This girl must be returned to her father, she-”_

_“She is no longer your concern” interrupted Kore. Confused looks crossed each of their faces, except for the one who was still staring._

_“Have you seen her?” asked a different man. “We’re only looking to help her! She’s confused, she’s-”_

_“She is under my protection!” bellowed Kore, so loud that the men actually took a step back. “Go back to your homes, you have no business here!” she repeated. Then, a look of realization dawned on the man who had been who had been staring at her._

_“I know who this Goddess is!” he shouted, his voice rough, almost accusatory. “This is Demeter’s little daughter, Kore!” Kore glared at the man. She didn’t like his tone. He spoke about her as if she were a child. “She’s barely more powerful than a flower nymph, let’s just go take the girl!”_

_A rage like Kore had never felt before exploded inside of her. Suddenly her feet were no longer on the ground, she was floating in the air. Her hair grew long and whipped around her, red vines intermingling with it. She felt branch like wings grow from her back, and dark green foliage grew over her shoulders like armour. Locks of pink hair mixed with vines shot out at each of the men, wrapping around their throats and lifting them into the air. They all looked terrified now, as they should._

_“How DARE you defy a Goddess?!” she bellowed, her voice echoing with primal power. An explosion rang out at the top of the mountain. Thin shoots of red hot lava shot straight up from the mountain’s summit, and then arched back down to plummet towards the earth. The men looked up in horror. Kore looked behind her in time to see a dark plume of ash ascending from the mountain’s peak. It was so strange, somehow she could feel it, as if the fertile soil of the mountain was connecting her to each element of the volcano. She could feel the pulsing of the hot blood of the earth underneath her, the small bits of rock that made up that dark, threatening cloud. She smiled a sinister smile, and then turned back to the men._

_“You have committed great hubris on this day, Mortals” she said, quieter than before, but somehow more threatening. “I gave you the option to return to your homes, and instead you chose to throw my generosity in my face.” Kore raised her arms to the sky, her hands like claws hooking into something that the mortals could not see, and brought them down in a sudden motion. As she did, the ash plume descended on the side of the mountain, causing a great landslide to rush downwards towards where she knew the village was. “Now you have no more homes to return to.”_

_“Please Goddess” the accusing man choked out. “We’re sorry… please have mercy…”_

_“Mercy” mused Kore, tiling her head back and forth, as if considering. “Perhaps I _should_ offer you mercy.” In a sudden motion, the hair and vines around the mortals' necks tightened, causing the deafening sound of six necks snapping simultaneously to ring through the forest. Their bodies landed with dull thuds on the forest floor when Kore let them go. “That is as much mercy as you deserve” said Kore, looking at their dead face, now permanently frozen in fear._

_“Goddess…” said a small voice, and Kore turned to see the girl peering out of the cave, her eyes somehow even more wide than before. A warm smile landed on Kore’s face when she saw her, and she reached out her hand._

_“Come here, child” said Kore, and the girl hesitantly started to walk towards the Primal Goddess._

_“He-he called you Kore” stuttered the girls as she slowly made her way closer. “Forgive me… but that doesn’t seem right.” Kore considered her words a moment, and perhaps there was truth to them. Maidens certainly didn’t reap the kind of destruction she had caused here today._

_“What might you call me?” asked Kore. The girl thought for a moment. She was close to Kore now, and she even began to stretch her hand out towards the Goddess._

_“Bringer of Death” said the girl, almost in a whisper, and then gently placed her hand in the Goddess’ outstretched palm. “ _Persephone_.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while. Work has been insane. Also I almost got this chapter finished about a week ago, and then deleted half of it and re-wrote it. I think it's pretty safe to say this fic has diverged from canon now. Don't get me wrong, I really love how Rachel did the Act of Wrath. I had already set up some things earlier in this fic that hinted towards the volcano theory, so I decided to stick with it, even though the Act of Wrath got revealed in canon.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter this time! Enjoy!

The light faded away from their hands as reality set back into place. Persephone immediately looked away from Hades, not ready to see the look in his eyes yet. She pulled her hands away from his and nervously wiped them against her legs, as if somehow wiping away the memory. Gods, that had been hard to watch, harder than she thought it would, given all that’s happened. It’s true she wasn’t afraid of that side of herself anymore, but it still wasn’t easy to watch herself destroy that village. Maybe it would never be easy, and maybe that was a good thing.

She looked back up at Hades, who was not looking at her, but staring off wide eyed into space. His mouth was a hard line, and his arms were folded across his chest. Persephone could see one of his hands gripping his forearm tightly. She desperately wanted to know what he was thinking, but she didn’t dare break the silence. That would be for him to do. Eventually he sucked in a long, deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but even then didn’t say anything right away. 

“I need to sit down” he said finally, and headed back over to the kitchen table. Persephone’s stomach was churning. She was glad she hadn’t actually gotten around to eating any of the breakfast she had made for herself. When Hades sat he let out a long sigh and put his head in his hands, his fingers running themselves through his hair. Then, with his elbows resting on the table he clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them. She watched him carefully, fiddling with the tie on her robe, twisting it back and forth. He seemed to be concentrating very hard, chewing on his lip occasionally, trying to sort things out in his head. “Etna” he said eventually. “You erupted Etna.” He spoke slowly, carefully, his voice almost strained. 

“Yes” replied Persephone. “It was a Strombolian eruption, I did some research afterwords…” She trailed off, realizing this was really in no way relevant. 

“Of course you did” said Hades. He still wasn’t looking at her, still staring off. Every second of it amplified her nerves. She didn’t know how Hades was going to react to this, but this was certainly not what she had imagined. Then Hades clicked his jaw, something he only ever did when he was upset. “How come I didn’t know about this?” he asked. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I-” she started, but Hades interrupted her. 

“That’s not what I meant” he said, slowly shaking his head. “I meant that as the God of the Dead, I should be aware when an entire village gets wiped off the map.” A new pang of guilt hit Persephone. She thought quickly, trying to figure out a way not to incriminate her friend, but there was no way around it, not without lying anyway.

“My mother paid off Hermes to cover it up” she admitted. Hades pursed his lips, but he didn’t exactly seem shocked by this. “Please don’t fire him” she blurted out. Hades sighed again.

“I’m not going to fire him” he said, and Persephone relaxed a little. “I will need to talk to him though” Hades continued. “If only to figure out what he did so it can be undone.” Persephone tensed up again. She didn’t like the idea of Hades delving into hidden files, taking an inventory of exactly how much destruction she had caused. “What happened to the girl?” asked Hades suddenly. The question took Persephone aback, momentarily shocking her out of her own head. 

“Corrina” said Persephone, she had found out the girl’s name later. “My mother made her an acolyte in one of her temples. She’s still there, as far as I know.” There was another long pause, Hades’ face completely unreadable. “I’m not proud of this” she announced. She wanted him to look at her so bad, to have some indication of how he was feeling about all this. At this point she would take yelling, anything would be better than these long bouts of strained silence. “But I don’t want to be afraid of the past anymore. I need to move forward.” She thought that might earn her some sort of response, but still there was nothing. It was driving her crazy, she needed him to talk to her, so she could at least know which way they were moving forward from this… if they were moving forward from this. “Look, I know you’re upset-”

“I’m not upset” he said, cutting her off, although his tone was so serious it was difficult for her to believe him. Then he looked over to her, finally. She was so relieved for him to finally look at her, even though the quizzical look on his face confused her. “Did you think I was going to be?” he asked.

“Honestly, I didn’t know!” said Persephone, her voice cracking slightly, betraying her distress. She was determined to keep it together, so she sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. “All I knew is that I had to tell you about this, and face whatever consequences there were.” Hades looked at her for a moment, his brow furrowed. Then after a few seconds his face softened, and a small, understanding smile appeared on his face. All this did was confuse Persephone, who looked at him in disbelief as he walked over to her and got on his knees in front of her, so they were face to face.

“I wish you had told me about this sooner” he said, his tone soft and gentle. “But given everything else we’ve spoken about, I understand why you didn’t.” He reached out a hand to stroke her cheek but she turned her head away. 

“I don’t need comforting” she said. Yes she did, but she didn’t want him to think she needed comforting. 

“Can you let me do it anyway please?” he asked, practically in a whisper. She looked back at him. His crimson eyes were so tender, so loving. How could he still look at her like that? His hand was still outstretched, close to her face. He started by gingerly grazing his thumb across her cheekbone. His touch felt so good, like instant solace. When she didn’t pull away, he cupped his entire hand around the side of her face, her chin in his palm, his fingers on her cheek.

“I want to be strong” she said, but she didn’t sound strong, her voice was so quiet.

“You are strong” he said assuredly, but she didn’t believe him. Her face must have betrayed that. “Hey, I mean that” he said. She placed her own hand over his, leaning her face into his hand. “Do you understand how incredibly powerful you are? It takes so much power to cause a spontaneous volcanic eruption, especially when it’s not technically your domain.” There was such awe in his voice when he spoke, but his praise only served to irritate the knot of guilt in her stomach.

“I buried an entire village of innocent people” she said. She could feel the sting of tears in her eyes, but she fought back against it fiercely.

“And I’m not saying that that was okay” he said, “but I have seen Gods do much worse with far less remorse. I mean, take what your mother is doing in the Mortal Realm right now.” That did not make her feel better, and instinctively she cringed at the reminder of the current carnage. “I’m sorry, that was callus” said Hades. He turned over the hand that was cupping her face to take hers, his other arm reaching for her other hand which was dangling at her side. He stayed there for a moment, gently stroking the back of her hands with his thumbs. “Your strength comes from your compassion, my love” said Hades, and as he spoke he looked deeply into Persephone’s eyes. “You are the most compassionate being I have ever met. If the rest of the pantheon had an ounce of the compassion you have, this world would be a much better place.” She smiled at that, even letting a small chuckle escape her lips. Hades smiled too, but then he let out another deep sigh. “But guilt doesn’t bring them back” he continued. “Denying your power doesn’t bring them back. Trust me, I know better than anyone, nothing brings them back.”

Persephone threw her arms around Hades then, not being able to stand not holding him anymore. She moved so quickly that it shocked him at first, but after a moment she felt his strong arms wrap around her. She wasn’t crying this time, not anymore. She was just so overwhelmed by how he always knew the exact words she needed to hear. A feeling of relief ran through her. She had told him, and he was still here, still loved her. The morning wasn’t over, she knew, there were still things she needed to talk to him about, but now that she had told him this, they could talk about those things, and maybe everything would be alright.

“So there’s my deepest, darkest secret” she said, still hugging him. “Feel like running yet?” she half joked.

“I wouldn’t dream of it” he replied, and then pulled back from their hug to look at her. “I love you, and there is nothing you can do or say that is going to make me stop loving you.”

“Hey, that’s my line” she teased, but she was smiling from ear to ear. He smiled back at her warmly.

“It’s a good line” he said. “And also very, very true.” He kissed her, his lips soft and gentle against hers. On instinct she wrapped her arms even tighter around him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. He took that as a sign to deepen their kiss, and sudden, intense desire ran through her, having her lean in for more. She wanted him, right now, and - _GAH! Focus!_

She broke their kiss rather suddenly, leaving a surprised look on Hades’ face. She fought back the desire to slip her hands under that flimsy robe he was wearing and watch it drop to the floor. “We still have things to talk about” she said to him, and he gave her a disappointed yet understanding look. He sighed, got to his feet, and then both of them headed back over to the kitchen table, sitting in front of their previously abandoned breakfast. 

“We should probably talk about what’s going to happen in two days” said Hades, staring uncomfortably at his slightly burnt bacon. Persephone nodded, taking a deep breath as she did. The nerves were coming back again, but now for an entirely different reason.

“Yes, we should” she said. She took a small bite of her toast and jam, testing whether or not she was still too nervous to eat. She seemed okay, but she also didn’t want to push it. Throwing up during this conversation would _really_ not help this plan. Hades stared down at his own breakfast, not making a move to touch it. She knew that look on him, he was about to say something painful. She could guess, he was so quick to sacrifice his own needs for others, but she wouldn’t let him do that, not today. “I have kind of a weird question to ask you” she announced, earning her a confused look from him.

“Okay” he said, a little cautiously, his brow furrowed. Persephone put her forearms on the table and leaned towards him. She was about to speak, but quickly realized, reviewing the conversations between last night and this morning in her head, that he might be missing a few key details.

“So I snuck into Olympus Headquarters and overheard your meeting with Zeus” confessed Persephone. Hades’ eyes widened a little, but he didn’t seem overly shocked by that information. He said nothing in response, so Persephone continued. “Well, not all of the meeting, but a good portion of it anyway. That’s what prompted me to persuade Hecate to show me the files.”

“Honestly, I just assumed that she had given up on me ever telling you” said Hades. 

“She really didn’t want to” said Persephone, trying to reassure him. She hoped he didn’t think of Hecate’s actions as a betrayal of his trust. “Anyway, after she showed me, I asked her to go find my mother.”

“I thought so” said Hades. “I’m surprised she found her so quick, but if anyone could-”

“She had help” said Persephone, finally getting close to what she wanted to ask. “She went to Helios who, of course, knew exactly where she was. When Hecate called me last night to update me, she told me that Helios assumed when he saw you take me that you took me as your bride.” Hades’ eyes went wide for a moment, then he let out a heavy sigh and hung his head.

“Gods, Demeter must have been furious” he said.

“She was, but that’s not my point” said Persephone, and Hades raised his head to look at her. “My question is, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but why didn’t you?” Hades looked taken aback by her question, as Persephone expected he would. The question had been poking at her since Hecate had mentioned Helios’ assumption. She could guess at the reasons, but it was important for her to hear it from him.

“Did you want me to?” asked Hades, his voice shocked.

“I didn’t say that” said Persephone, knowing that’s how he would take this. “I’m just curious. Indulge me?” Hades paused for a moment considering.

“Zeus actually suggested it” said Hades. Persephone wasn’t surprised by this, knowing Zeus sometimes held a more archaic view of women and relationships. “It was about a week after we met” continued Hades, and this did surprise Persephone. “I was already so helplessly smitten with you, and at the time you were still on track to join TGOEM. Zeus thought it was a good way to ensure I didn’t lose my chance with you. I refuse though. I told him if you were to marry me, I wanted you to love me.” Persephone smiled warmly, her heart feeling light, thinking of Hades’ defending her choices, even all the way back then. 

“That still doesn’t answer my question though” she said. “I mean, you knew I loved you when we were back in the garden together.”

“Just because I’m old, doesn’t mean I’m old fashioned” he replied, his tone light and teasing. “But is all seriousness” he continued, reaching across the table to take her hand. “If you were to marry me, Persephone, Goddess of Spring, I would want you to make that choice freely, of your volition, and for no other reason other than that you love me.” She was looking into his eyes, his warm, adoring eyes, and she felt nothing but overwhelming love for him. She couldn’t imagine a more incredible man, and she felt so lucky that she was the one he looked at like that. She needed to hear those words from him, they made what she had to say next so much easier to say. Before she could say it though, he looked away from her, a darkness crossing his face. 

“I never want to be the person to take a choice away from you” said Hades, a slight strain in his voice. “Which is why this whole situation is so hard. I can’t help but feel like I’m the reason that you’re being forced into this awful position.” He seemed like he wanted to continue, but Persephone gave his hand a squeeze, interrupting his train of thought. He looked back to her, and there was pain on his face. Persephone just smiled at him, trying to beam to him all of her love. 

“Let me make this easy on you” said Persephone, and Hades looked at her expectantly. “I am going back to the Mortal Realm in two days, but I have no intention to stay there.” It was the first time she had spoken that decision out loud, and her words seemed to hang in the air. Hades looked hopeful for a split second, but then his face fell again.

“You know Demeter is not going to accept that” said Hades sadly. 

“I don’t intend to give her a choice” replied Persephone resolutely. Hades looked at her quizzically. It was time for her next question. “Hades Aidoneus, I love you more than anything in this world.” Her voice was already starting to crack, she hoped she could get through this. “The thought of eternity used to terrify me, but I haven’t felt like that in a long time. Now eternity feels welcoming, inviting even, as long as you’re by my side. The thought of it fills me with such joy, and excitement, and love, and comfort, and confidence in the ability to face whatever life throws at me, and that’s all because of you. You are kind, and supportive, and deeply loving. You are the most wondrous and incredible being I have ever met in my entire life, and I can’t imagine any future of mine that doesn’t include you.” Hades tended to brush off her complements when she gave them to him. She was glad he didn’t do that today. Insead he just looked at her, tears welling up in his eyes again. She took a deep breath, working up her courage. “And so my love, I am asking you if tomorrow, you would do me the greatest honour of marrying me?”

What followed next was probably the longest silence of Persephone’s life. She knew, in reality, it was only a few seconds, but it felt like time had stopped. She looked expectantly at her lover, who smiled at her, hoping his silence was because he was too moved for words. He was still holding her hand, and he was squeezing it tight now. Finally, he spoke.

“The honour would be all mine, my incredible, magnificent Kore” he said, his voice choking with emotion. Persephone’s heart soared, but plummeted in an instant when he spoke his next word. “But-”

“Wait!” she interrupted. She knew how he thought, she was prepared for objections. “Before you say anything else, there was a reason I asked what I asked you before. I needed you to say that, so that you would know that, while the timing might be influenced by some outside forces, the fact that I want to marry you has nothing to do with anything other than the fact that I am completely and totally in love with you… and will be for the rest of my life.”

Hades didn’t say anything at first, making Persephone nervous again. She desperately needed him to understand that she wasn’t trying to marry him so she could have leverage over her mother, that the only reason she wanted to marry him was him. After a few seconds he got hup from his chair, and slowly came over to her, dropping to one knee in front of her. He took his hands in hers, bringing them to his lips and placing a gentle kiss there. Then he spoke the most glorious syllable Persephone had ever heard.

“Yes.”

“Yes!” squealed Persephone, launching herself at Hades, wrapping her arms around him. She knocked them both to the ground as they laughed gleefully. Hades held her tight against him, his body shaking slightly. Persephone couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying or both. It was certainly both for her. She propped herself up so she could look at him, his face the picture of sheer joy. He brought a hand to touch her face and she nuzzled into it.

“Everytime I think I couldn’t be any happier, you do something to prove me wrong Little Goddess” he said, gruff and breaking. Persephone leaned her head down so they were forehead to forehead.

“And may I always, for the rest of our lives.”

***

After a giddy and frantic lovemaking session on the kitchen floor it was time to get down to business. They had a little over 24 hours to put a wedding together. While they both agreed they would keep this simple, there were some things they couldn’t do without, for example, an officiant. 

Their first call was to Hera, who proclaimed that it was about time. She agreed to come over the next day to perform the ceremony and bless their union. Her one condition was that once everything was settled, they would have a big ceremony that all the family could attend. Persephone didn’t need a big wedding, it was never something she dreamed about as she never thought it would happen to her, however even she could understand how a big public ceremony would have wonderful optics for the Underworld. They agreed, much to Hera’s delight.

Hera had also told them they needed witnesses. One was necessary, but two would be better, seeing as there was a good chance this marriage would come into question. Therefore, their next phone calls were to Hecate and Eros respectively. As their closest friends, they were the perfect choice of witnesses. The conversation with Hecate was short and sweet, with her being delighted for Hades and Persephone, and immediately being on board with whatever they needed of her. Eros, on the other hand, while ecstatic, was having a mini freak out about the sudden impromptu nuptials. He ended their phone call by proclaiming “There’s so much to do!” before hanging up, not giving Persephone the chance to tell him that since the wedding was tomorrow they were keeping things low key. A minute later there was a knock at the door, and Eros strode into the house, intense and frantic.

“What the fuck happened in here?” said Eros, looking around at the jungle growth that was still covering the house. His eyes were wide as he looked around, and then he focused in on Hades and Persephone, who were sitting at the kitchen table again. “Nevermind, we’ll get to later. Get dressed, we’re going to the mall.” They were still in their robes from earlier, and in fact they were lucky they had even thought to put them _back_ on. 

“What do you mean we’re going to the mall? What are you even doing here?” questioned Persephone. 

“We have a million things to do, and very little time, so go get dressed” he ordered again.

“I’m getting married tomorrow, Eros, I don’t need fancy” said Persephone. 

“Hey, you called me, you knew exactly what you were getting into” said Eros while pointing at her accusingly. Persephone sighed, Eros _did_ love weddings. She looked over to Hades, who was smiling, clearly amused.

“He does have a point” said Hades, much to Persephone’s surprise.

“Seriously? You’re taking his side?” asked Persephone, to which Hades chuckled. 

“Go to the mall Sweetness, indulge the crazy man” he said to her. “It will give me a chance to work on our rings.” Persephone smiled. Hades had insisted on making the rings himself, and she knew his mind had been thinking up designs for months. It was important to him, and she was so excited to be able to proudly wear a symbol of her love for him, and his love for her, that he made himself.

“I love you” she said to him.

“I love you too” he replied. “Now go get dressed, before Eros forces you out to the mall in your robe.” 

“Okay, okay” she said, heading over to the stairs to head up to the bedroom. “You have 24 hours, I don’t know what you think we’re going to get done” she shot at Eros over her shoulder as she headed up the stairs.

“You underestimate me, Petal Power” said Eros. 

Once she was dressed, her and Eros headed out, transferring to one of the higher end malls in the Underworld. Persephone didn’t bother with changing her form. Her mother already knew where she had been the last 6 months, and very soon, so would everyone else. Not to mention the fact that she was about to be Queen of this realm, she should be able to walk around in it freely.

The first thing they did was a quick stop at a nail salon at the mall, booking them appointments for 4pm, as they would be done shopping by then. Next, they went to a store that specialized in evening wear, carrying some of the most beautiful and expensive dresses that Persephone had ever seen. While there was no way she was going to get a wedding dress for tomorrow, Eros insisted on at least having a beautiful, special dress for her special day. As she browsed through the exquisite garments, she started to be glad Eros had dragged her out. She was starting to get excited, imagining how Hades would look at her wearing one of these tomorrow. It was also a good opportunity to ask Eros a few questions.

“So I’ve never actually been to God’s wedding” admitted Persephone. “I’ve seen mortal weddings though, are they similar?” She pulled a silver sheath dress off the rack to look at, but it looked much too long for her and there would be no time to get it hemed. 

“Yes and no” said Eros, who was considering a cream coloured lace gown. “We still keep some of the old traditions, but they’ve been blended with some more morden things. For example, most brides lately have been opting for white wedding dresses instead of the traditional purple.” Why Eros was looking at the cream gown made sense now.

“Well I’m definitely not doing purple” said Persephone. “But I don’t think I want to do white either.” 

“Too virginal for a fertility goddess?” he teased. Persephone rolled her eyes.

“Maybe” she admitted. “Also, don’t the men traditionally wear white?”

“Not so much anymore” said Eros. “Most just go for a tux or a nice tailored suit. Sometimes they’ll do a white suit, especially if the bride wants to go purple for her dress.” 

“What else is different?” asked Persephone, still browsing the seemingly endless racks of dresses. She wondered if they had a short person section, as all these gowns seemed to be made for people much taller than her.

“Well there’s no offerings or sacrifices” said Eros. “Artemis doesn’t need your childhood toys, and Hera doesn’t need a lock of your hair.” Persephone giggled. Of course it made sense that the Gods would not make sacrifices to each other. “There’s still the feasting and the drinking and the partying of course, and the basic structure is still the same, it’s just how the different elements are executed.” That made sense. Persephone knew that a lot of the symbology of mortal weddings was the transfer of the bride as a member of her father’s household to that of her new husband’s. She didn’t think most Olympian women would take too kindly to being treated as property, and neither did she.

“What about veils?” asked Persephone.

“Still a thing, but usually not saffron dyed” said Eros. “Nowadays they’re usually white, to match the dress.” As Eros spoke Persephone laid her hands on an absolutely stunning dress. She quickly tried it on, and was delighted to find it fit her like a glove. It was royal blue, and made of a fabric that sparkled everytime it moved, almost like stars. The front of it had a plunging neckline that showed off her full breasts. The back of it had delicate strings of royal blue rhinestones that created a stunning web of sparkles across her back. Strings of rhinestones also wrapped around the lower part of the bodice, just below where the deep v stopped. The skirt flowed out over her hips, not poofy, but not clinging to her either. There was enough fabric in it for her to swing it slightly, giving her room to move. It was a little long, but with the right pair of shoes that wouldn’t be a problem. She felt elegant and regal and beautiful. It was perfect. 

They bought the dress, Persephone cringing slightly at the price, but she imagined Hades’ face when he saw her in it as she swiped his credit card. After the gown store their next stop was shoes, and it thankfully took very little time for them to find the perfect pair of strappy royal blue heels to go with her dress. 

After shoes Persephone insisted on lunch, her stomach complaining at the distinct lack of breakfast she had had. They stopped in a chic little cafe attached to the mall, ordered some paninis and iced teas, and settled in to eat. Over lunch Persephone filled Eros in on everything that had happened since she last saw him. Of course, her friend was most interested in the house’s current excess of vegetation and the ensuing carnal activities. Eros was the one friend Persephone was comfortable sharing any details of her sex life with, and even then she wasn’t comfortable sharing much. That’s not why she chose not to give him any details though. Last night had been intimate in ways she was still struggling to put into words, and she knew that that had to stay between Hades and her.

Their next stop was a lingerie store. Persephone was happy to hear the _zone_ had gone out of fashion. In lieu of the virginal girdle, brides opted instead for sexy lingerie. Somehow they found a lace bustier and panty set that was the exact colour of her dress. Hades may not have anything to unlace tomorrow night, but a shiver of anticipation ran down Persephone’s spine at the thought of him removing these with his teeth.

They had a little bit of time to kill after that before their spa appointment, having taken less time at the shoe store and lingerie store then they thought. They wandered around until they found a boutique pet store that Persephone insisted on going in. Eros waited patiently while she browsed through all of the high end pet accessories, cooing loudly when she found something she thought was particularly adorable. She ended up cleaning them out of doggie bow ties, having to buy seven of them for each one of the boys. Pomelia though got something special, her precious girl getting a diamond studded collar. She also bought new bones for all of them in the appropriate sizes, a variety of speciality treats, and new dog shampoo that smelled like roses. The bill was ridiculously large, in no small part to Pomelia’s new collar, but Persephone had to qualms about spending that much on the dogs.

Once they got to the nail salon, her and Eros were ushered to the pedicure station. After taking off her shoes, Persephone settled into the comfy massage chair and dipped her feet into the bubbling foot bath. She had to admit, after a few hours of shopping, sitting down and soaking her feet felt heavenly. Drinks were brought over to them without them even asking. Persephone was glad when she tasted the beverage that it was only sparkling water. 

“I’m so glad you’re not in hiding anymore” said Eros as they got pampered. Since they were short on time so while one esthetician worked on their feet, another worked on their hands at the same time. 

“I mean, it’s not like things are totally okay yet” said Persephone. “But I get what you mean. I feel like I’ve been sneaking around for an entire year, it’s nice to just out and about without all that.”

“Selfishly, I’m super excited to not have to keep this secret anymore” said Eros. Persephone smiled, she knew how much he loved gossip, she was sure it was killing him to keep her whereabouts to himself. “Artemis really misses you by the way.” 

“Have you talked to her recently?” asked Persephone.

“We’ve actually been hanging out a bunch recently” said Eros, to which Persephone was surprised. She knew they were friendly but she didn’t think they were that close. “At first we mostly talked about you.”

“Really?” said Persephone, more confused than she was before.

“I think she kind of feels bad how everything played out” said Eros. “I mean, when you were in Olympus, she was supposed to look out for you, and she didn’t.” Persephone’s stomach sank thinking about what happened back then. “And I’m not just talking about the situation with You-Know-Who either. But because of that, and TGOEM, and everything else going on, she sort of missed out being your go-to person, like she was supposed to be. Talking to me about gave her the opportunity to get to know the real you, in a way.” Persephone was thoughtful as she listened to Eros talk. There was no denying that her relationship with Artemis had been damaged, and not just by her brother. She was glad Artemis seemed to be making an effort to right that, as much as she could. “After a while, we actually became legit friends. She’s really cool.”

“She is” said Persephone, still thoughtful. She would need to talk to Artemis after things settled out. They needed a good heart to heart.

“She’s actually given me some really solid advice about the Psyche situation” said Eros.

“Really?” asked Persephone. She didn’t think relationship advice would be Artemis’ strong suit.

“Trust, I was just as surprised as you are” replied Eros. “I was bitching to her about how it’s been like, a year, and we’re only two out of four tasks down. Artemis pointed out that maybe this is my test, as well as Psyche’s. Like my mom is testing if I really love, if I’m willing to wait for her for as long as it takes.”

“And are you?” asked Persephone. 

“Of course” said Eros, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I actually don’t blame my mom if that’s her intention, I do traditionally have a short attention span. But she has such a hold on my heart, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Even after such a short time with her, I’d do anything to be with her again. I can’t explain it.”

“Please, you don’t need to explain it to me” said Persephone with a smirk.

“Oh yeah, I forgot who I was talking to” teased Eros with a smile. Another esthetician was coming towards them with a strange, vaguely gun looking device in her hands. 

“Are you ready?” she asked Persephone, and Persephone looked back at her with suspicion.

“Ready for what?” Persephone asked. The esthetician cast confused looks to both her and Eros.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, we’re getting your ears pierced today too” said Eros. Persephone was both immediately nervous and excited, but mostly annoyed that Eros ‘forgot’ to tell her until the surprise was sprung on her. Eros seemed to sense her annoyance, but didn’t seem to care. “Happy wedding, Petal Power.”

***

After the mall, Persephone and Eros ended up making a pit stop in Olympus. Eros was insisting on staying with Persephone that night, so he needed to stop home to pack an overnight bag and pick out a suit for himself for the next day. After that Persephone thought it was a good opportunity to pick up Hades’ car, which was still sitting in Athena’s driveway. Athena wasn’t home, so Persephone and Eros just hopped into the car and Persephone drove them back to the Underworld. On the way they picked up a takeout feast from Persephone’s favourite italian place, and stopped by a liquor store to pick up a few bottles of wine.

When they got back to the townhome they quickly realized they had too many things and not enough hands. Persephone peeked her head in the front door and she could spy Hades and Hecate having a drink in the living room. Her heart filled with joy as Hades’ face lit up upon seeing her. 

“Hey there, beautiful” he said. 

“Hey handsome” said Persephone, smiling from ear to ear, completely enraptured by her husband-to-be. Then she remembered why she was hanging in the doorway in the first place. “Can you two come help Eros and I take things into the house?” she asked.

“Of course, Sweetness” said Hades. Him and Hecate put down their drink and came and joined Persephone.

“Did you get your ears pierced?” asked Hecate as they walked out to the garage. 

“I did!” said Persephone excitedly. Any annoyance she had at Eros for springing it on her left when she saw the elegant diamond studs in her ears.

“Oh, let me see” said Hades, and Persephone stopped walking so he could bend down and inspect her ear. “Absolutely gorgeous” he said, and then after a second he added, “and the earrings are pretty too.” Then he placed a quick and unexpected kiss behind her ear, making her gasp and giggle.

“Alright, save it for tomorrow night, love birds” said Hecate. Persephone and Hades exchanged a flirtatious glance and then continued towards the garage.

“You picked up the car?” asked Hades when they entered the garage to see Eros pulling bags out of the back seat.

“Yeah, we had to stop by Eros’ house in Olympus anyway so he could pack an overnight bag” said Persephone. “Also, Eros is staying here tonight, I hope that’s alright.” 

“I figured as much” said Hades, grabbing the wine and one bag of takeout. “Hecate is staying here too.” Persephone picked up the bag with her shoes as well as the bag from the lingerie store. 

“Do you really think we’re going to have to worry about either of these two running off Eros?” asked Hecate. She grabbed the other bag of takeout and all the bags from the pet store, leaving Eros to take the dress.

“I think our job is going to be less about making sure they get together tomorrow, and more about keeping them apart tonight” said Eros, making Hecate laugh and Persephone blush.

“I still don’t understand why we have to sleep in separate beds tonight” complained Persephone as they started to head back to the house.

“It’s tradition!” replied Eros. Persephone rolled her eyes, it had been Eros’ favourite line of the day. Eros seemed to miss the eye roll, but Hades didn’t, as he let out a deep chuckle.

“What is all this anyway?” asked Hecate, peering in the bags from the pet store. 

“Stuff for the dogs” said Persephone. When they got back to the house Persephone gave Eros her bags so he could take all of it up to the spare bedroom.

“Level with me Eros, did she spend more on the dogs than she did on herself?” asked Hades.

“Damn near” said Eros before disappearing up the stairs. 

“You tease, but wait until you see what I bought them” said Persephone in her defense.

“Tease? I would never” said Hades in mock offense. Then he bent down and gave Persephone a give but passionate kiss. She desperately wished it wasn’t as short as it was. Sleeping apart tonight would certainly be harder than she thought.

While Persephone and Eros had been out, Hades and Hecate had cut back some of the plant life that had taken over the house. They had still left much of it though, something that delighted Persephone. The four of them sat at the kitchen table for dinner, eating, drinking, talking, laughing, and toasting to a joyous _Proaulia_. They had decided that tomorrow’s feast should take place outside in the backyard, so after dinner Persephone went out there to work her magic. She filled the garden with lilies, hydrangeas, baby’s breath, lilacs, anemones, honeysuckle, and of course, roses. When she was done, it was time for bed. After the wine she had had it took a while to pry her away from her husband-to-be. Eventually Eros managed to convince her to retire with him to the spare bedroom.

The last thing she did before she crawled into bed was to take out her day planner and flip to March 20th. She crossed out where she had written _One Day until Spring_ and instead replaced it with something else.

_Our Wedding Day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may have done little research on Ancient Greek wedding ceremonies. You got a little of it in this chapter, and there will be a lot more in the next chapter. Some fun wedding facts for ya'll:
> 
> Brides wore purple because it was the most expensive dye (also why purple was considered a royal colour throughout history). White wedding dresses weren't popularized until Queen Victoria's wedding.
> 
> Ancient Greek weddings took place over three days, the first day called Proaulia. This first day mostly consisted of sacrifices to the Gods, including to Artemis, Athena, and Hera. 
> 
> A zone was a girdle worn by girls for their wedding. It was often sacrificed to Artemis. Also, "unlacing the zone" was often used as a euphemism for the consummation of the marriage.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gamos: the second day of the wedding, what we might consider the actual wedding day. The day would start with the bride's ritual bath. The bride would then be dressed, and this process was often so elaborate that a professional dresser was often hired. There would then be a feast, usually at the bride's father's house, with food, cake, dancing, and the singing of wedding songs. After dark, there would be a procession through the streets of town with all the wedding guests. Several short ceremonies would be performed at the groom's house to welcome the bride into his household. After that guests would leave so the marriage could be consummated.
> 
> Epaulia: The third day of the wedding. More feasting, and this is where wedding gifts would be presented to the new couple.
> 
> Stephane: a crown worn by the bride, sometimes made of metal, sometime made of asparagus and other plants representing fertility.

Persephone was laying in the bathtub, her eyes half closed, allowing the warmth of the water to soak deep into her bones. The bride’s ritual bath was an integral part of the wedding ceremony still, although the water for this bath was not fetched for her from some sacred spring. While her and Eros had been out the day before, Hecate had taken the rose petals from the previous night and brewed some rose oil with it. She had added some of that rose oil to the bath though, which softened her skin as she soaked, and a few lotus flowers had bloomed as she relaxed. She felt wonderful, and after a restless night a relaxing bath was exactly what she needed. She had gotten so used to sleeping next to Hades that she found it very difficult to sleep without him. That combined with her excitement about her impending nuptials, she barely slept a wink. Also, Eros snores.

A knock at the door had Persephone’s eyes flying open. “It’s Hera, may I come in?” sang the voice of the Golden Queen.

“Of course, come in” replied Persephone. Hera slipped into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind her. She wore a long sleeved emerald green sheath dress, and her gold hair was up in a tight bun on the top of her head. Her blue eyes landed on Persephone, smiling warmly at her.

“Well don’t you look divine, little Dove” she said, to which Persephone responded with a blissful smile. Hera went over to the bathroom counter and lifted herself up to perch there. “How did you sleep last night?” she asked.

“Not well” said Persephone, and Hera gave her an understanding look.

“I’m not surprised” said Hera. “Hades told me how you proposed by the way. I’m very proud of you.”

“Do you think he's a little disappointed he didn’t get to ask me himself?” asked Persephone, voicing a concern that she had had since she first had the idea to ask him.

“Well he should have gotten off his ass” said Hera, making Persephone giggle. 

“And you don’t mind that I kind of broke tradition?” she asked.

“Traditions are made to be broken” replied Hera. “And besides, it’s important for us women to flip the script every now and again. Keeps the men on their toes. Speaking of tradition though, we should probably go over how the day is going to go.” Persephone nodded. She had briefly talked to Eros about some of the adapted traditions the Gods made to _Gamos_ , but there were some more changes that were being made to adapt to a smaller scale. “So after you’re done with your bath, then there will be the dressing ceremony. However we’ll wait to do that until Eros gets back.”

“Where did Eros go?” asked Persephone, unaware that he had left.

“He went to go pick up food, cake, and more wine” replied Hera. “I’m actually really impressed with how he’s managed to pull all of this together in such a short time, I may hire him to help me out with some wedding planning in the future.”

“I’m sure he would love that” said Persephone.

“So after you’re all dressed and ready, we’ll head out to the garden, which looks amazing by the way” said Hera, making Persephone beam with pride. “We’ll eat, we’ll drink, we’ll dance. Eros has apparently picked out a perfect song for your and Hades to dance to, or so he tells me. After that, we’ll do the wedding procession, although it’s not like we’re going far, just to the back porch. We’re going to use that gorgeous outdoor fire pit you guys have for our hearth. Then we do vows and blessings, all pretty straight forward. Then Hecate, Eros, and I will get out of your hair so you and Hades can take care of the rest.” Finally being alone with Hades again, that she was definitely excited for.

“I should get out” said Persephone, looking at her hands. “I’m starting to get pruney, and that’s not a good look.” Persephone stood up, letting the water drip off her body, and then bent down to undo the plug to let the bath drain. Suddenly she realized that she was fully nude in front of Hera, a fact that she didn’t really mind but perhaps Hera did. “You don’t mind that I’m-?”

“Naked? No, I don’t mind” said Hera with a smile. Persephone grinned back at her. Hera hopped off the counter, grabbed a towel, and handed it to Persephone. Persephone stepped out of the tub and began to dry herself off.

“Of course this won’t all be finished until tomorrow” said Hera, her voice lower and more serious than before.

“Indeed” said Persephone, thinking about the challenges that tomorrow would bring. She finished drying herself and wrapped the towel around her head. “I wonder what kind of _Epaulia_ gift my mother will give me?” she said sadly. Hera chuckled darkly.

“The only thing that got her remotely calm the other night was the fact that you two weren’t married yet” said Hera. For a moment, Persephone felt a pang of guilt hit her.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with her” she said. She remembered Zeus’ strained voice on the phone from yesterday morning. She realized that if her mother had descended upon the manor, it probably wasn’t just Zeus being on the receiving end of her wrath.

“Don’t be” said Hera. Persephone grabbed her light pink plush robe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door and wrapped it around herself. “The fact that any of us thought this would end any other way was foolish.” The two women left the bathroom and headed through the bedroom out into the hall. “Bedroom’s all yours Hades!” called Hera as they headed down the hall to the spare bedroom.

“Thank you!” Persephone heard Hades call from downstairs. “No, Fudge, drop that! Drop it!” Persephone wondered what Fudge had that he wasn’t supposed to, but his voice faded as Hera closed the door to the spare bedroom. 

“So you’re ready for tomorrow then?” she asked. Persephone went over and took a seat on the bed.

“I suppose” said Persephone. The night before she did manage to get some alone time with Hades thanks to Hecate dragging Eros away by his ear. They were able to discuss the plans and potential outcomes she had gone over with Athena. They knew what they wanted to have happen, they knew where they were willing to compromise, and where they weren’t. Hades made it a point to make sure that Persephone knew that he would support her no matter what decision she made, and no matter how tomorrow turned. She was so grateful for him, she loved him so much. “At least after today I’ll have some leverage.”

“No you won’t” said Hera rather quickly, surprising Persephone. “You’ll have buy-in, not leverage, they’re different.”

“How do you mean?” asked Persephone.

“I mean, you showing up tomorrow with a ring on your finger is the equivalent to walking up to a poker table and slamming down 5000 drachma in cash” Hera replied as a flush rose on Persephone’s cheeks.

“Did Eros tell you about that?” she mumbled.

“Oh, don’t blame him too much” said Hera, smiling at her kindly. “I was having a particularly difficult afternoon with Zeus and I very much enjoyed hearing about someone making a fool out of him.” Hera’s words relaxed Persephone, and she managed to smile at the other Goddess. “My point is, the marriage will get you to the negotiation table, but it won’t give you the leverage you need.” Persephone considered her words carefully.

“And why do I get the feeling you know how I can get that leverage?”

***

Hades chased Fudge across the living room, yelling at him to drop the gem stone he had stolen off the table. He knew what the dog was doing, bored with the fact that daddy wasn't paying attention to him, he did something that would entice Hades to chase him. And chase him he did. Really, if need be, Hades could have just made another crystal to complete what he was working on, he was more afraid that Fudge was going to swallow it, and he _really_ didn’t need to make an emergency vet visit, not on today of all days.

When Hades finally caught up to him, Fudge dropped the now spit soaked stone into his open palm. The dog looked entirely unapologetic, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth and smiling widely. Hades couldn’t bring himself to call him the BD word, so instead he gave him a quick pat on the head and then went to go wash the dog slobber of the gem.

He had chosen opal for this particular project. It was not a gem he worked with often, but for what he had in mind they were perfect. They way they shined with a myriad of colours as they hit the light, these ones dancing with pink, blue, and green flecks, were exactly what he was looking for. He did his best to form them into tear drop shapes, flower petals, arranging them just so around a centre made of tiny dark pink tourmalines. He was just securing the last opal in place when Hera came down the stairs and joined him at the kitchen table where he was working.

“My word, that is beautiful” gasped Hera when she saw the delicate headpiece in Hades hands. “Is that her _stephane_?”

“Yes” replied Hades, turning the crown back and forth in the light. He wanted it to look like it had been a crown woven out of wild flowers.He had managed to craft the rose gold base to resemble the stems of the flowers he was trying to emulate. The opal petal shined so brilliantly in the light, and tiny touches of pink tourmaline added an extra sparkle.

“I’ve never seen anything like it” said Hera, her eyes transfixed on the _stephane_.

“I hope she’ll like it” said Hades, placing the crown down to rest on the table.

“She’ll love it” said Hera. “And not just because it’s gorgeous, but because you made it for her.” Hera reached her hands across the table, taking Hades’ hands in hers, giving them an affectionate squeeze. Hades looked at her, and while her lips were smiling, her eyes were sad, and starting to brim with tears. 

“Bunny…” he said, his tone both comforting and a little warning. He could tell where her mind was by looking at her, on the ‘might haves’ and the ‘could have beens’, on the choice she made two thousand years ago, and the consequences of that… for both of them. But Hades didn’t want to think of any of that, not today, Gods, not today. He would be rather happy, infact, if he could cast all those painful memories from his mind permanently. 

“I know” said Hera, sniffling back the tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks. She sighed and cast her eyes away from him. “I’m sorry, I’m just… feeling a bit sorry for myself, that’s all.” Even though he had no feelings for Hera anymore, he still cared about her deeply, and still had the desire to take care of her when she was hurt. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze, echoing hers from before. She sniffled again, and then scrunched up her face and shook her head, as if trying to shake the emotions away from her. “But that doesn’t matter, this isn’t about me at all. Today is all about you and Persephone, and I am so very, very, very happy for you.” She was smiling at him, but the sadness hadn’t totally left her eyes. Hades smiled back, trying to come up with what to say to her. Thankfully, he didn’t have to, because Eros walked in, his arms laden with bags. “Let me help you with that” said Hera, quickly dropping Hades’ hands and walking over to Eros as he headed to the kitchen. Hades watched as Eros dropped all the bags on the kitchen island and began to sort through them with Hera’s help.

“So, as promised, we have a proper Greek feast” said Eros, pulling out trays of takeout food onto the counter. The scents of garlic, oregano, rosemary, dill, and a number of other spices hit Hades’ nose. It smelled absolutely incredible. Hera was turning the oven on to warm and placing specific trays in there as Eros unpacked. “And I stopped by that bakery you recommended and picked up a dozen assorted cupcakes for the feast and-”

“An extra one for Persephone to have now?” asked Hades, confirming his earlier request to Eros.

“An extra one for Persephone to have now” repeated Eros, pulling out a small white box that looked like it was only big enough to hold a single cupcake. “I should probably give this to her before makeup, you know how she eats cupcakes.” Hades smiled thinking of how no matter how hard she tried, Persephone always ended up getting icing on her nose whenever she ate cupcakes. Hades loved it, as it always gave him the perfect opportunity to kiss that adorable little nose. 

Hera had finished putting trays in the oven to keep warm and popped one of the bottles of champagne that Eros had brought in with them. Hades got up and grabbed the crystal champagne flutes he kept in a special cabinet near his liquor, balancing 5 of them and placing them on the island next to Hera. 

“Speaking of things that should happen before makeup, you should probably give her that _stephane_ sooner rather than later” said Hera as she poured champagne.

“Ooh, you finished it? Let me see!” said Eros, and Hades went and fetched the crown from the table, holding it up so Eros could see. “Oh yeah, she’s definitely going to cry when she sees that.” Hades smirked, knowing Eros was right. “Did you bring the veil, Hera?” he asked, grabbing a glass of champagne in his free hand. He was still holding the cupcake box.

“Yes, it’s upstairs in the spare bedroom” said Hera. She grabbed a glass in each hand. “Shall we?” she said to Eros.

“Let’s” he replied with a smile, and the two of them disappeared up the stairs, presumably to start the process of getting Persephone dressed. He understood this was usually a long process. While he certainly didn’t need as long as she did, he figured now was a good time to get himself dressed as well. He poked his head out the back door to call down to Hecate, who was putting some finishing touches to the garden, that he was headed upstairs. He grabbed one of the two remaining glasses of champagne, grabbed the _stephane_ , and retired to his bedroom.

As soon as Hades entered the bedroom the unmistakable and intoxicating smell of roses hit his nose. He knew it must have been from the rose oil Hecate had made from Persephone’s petals. He breathed deeply, letting the scent of it overwhelm his senses. He stripped out of the comfortable lounge clothes he had put on that morning, dumping them in the hamper on his way to the bathroom. He smiled when he saw the lotus flowers that were still decorating the bottom of his bathtub. He turned on the shower, letting it heat up to his preferred temperature. Before he stepped in he decided to put a few drops of the oil in the bottom of his shower, let the scent infuse into the steam.

As he showered he let his mind wander, reflecting on the insanity of the last few days, of how he ended up here, about to marry the love of his life. For a good while now he had wanted to ask Persephone to marry him, but he had held back. He knew that marriage had never been a part of her plan before, and with how young she was too, he didn’t want to rush her into anything she wasn’t ready for. They were immortal, they had forever to talk about the future. He figured when she was ready she would give him some sign, and he would know. Well, she couldn’t have given him a clearler sign, could she? While part of him kicked himself for missing the opportunity to ask her himself, the other part of him was so full of joy he didn’t care. Besides, it’s not as if much about their relationship had been traditional up to this point, and Persephone’s tenacity in forging her own path was something he absolutely loved about her.

After his shower, Hades dried himself off and then took time to give himself as close a shave as he dared. He still preferred to use a straight razor. While it took longer, and required more concentration, nothing compared to the shave it gave him. Once he was done he tossed on a robe and headed back into the bedroom. He could hear the dull thud of music being played loudly in the next room, some pop song he doubted he would recognize even if he could hear it properly. Suddenly the melodic trill of Persephone’s sweet laughter could be heard drifting above the din, making Hades smile. Like her smile, her laugh was contagious to him, and he could easily listen to it every day of his life. 

The tuxedo he had chosen for today was hanging on the back of the closet door. He had thought a lot about what he wanted to wear today. For a moment he thought to wear his military uniform, which would be typical for a royal wedding. But that’s not what today was about. Today was intimate, special, and just about him and Persephone and no one else. No, he would save the uniform for the dog and pony show Hera intended to put them through. Today he would wear the tuxedo he was wearing that first night at the Panathenaea. The night that changed everything. 

He was just in the middle of tying his bow tie when there was a knock at the door. “You decent?” came Hecate’s voice from the other side of the door. 

“Yes, come in” he called back, and Hecate slipped through the door carrying a glass of champagne in one hand and the remainder of the bottle in the other. He could see in the mirror she had changed from the casual dark jeans and loose fitting grey sweater she had been wearing earlier to a tailored suit. It was one she often favoured, black, close fitting, with white floral accents on the shoulders. “Nice choice” he said as she topped off his glass which he had left on Persephone’s bedside table. 

“Likewise” she said, handing him the glass. He took it from her, and then Hecate draped her arm around his wide shoulders. For a moment they stood next to each other, looking at themselves in the full length mirror. “You should wear that more often” said Hecate.

“What, the tux?” asked Hades, confused.

“No, the smile” replied Hecate. “It’s a good look on you.” Hades couldn’t help but agree, looking at the love sick man in the mirror. Suddenly there was another knock on the door, but Hera did not wait for an answer before she poked her head in.

“Hey, I recognize that tux, sentimental old bastard” said Hera, her tone light and teasing. 

“Can I help you Hera? Or did you just come in here to insult me?” asked Hades as Hera walked into the room, her hands behind her back.

“Insult you? I think it's a wonderful choice” she said. She brought her hands in front of her when she reached Hades, revealing what she had been hiding behind her back. “The traditional wreath of myrtle” she said as Hades stared at the crown of bright green leaves dotted with tiny white flowers. He knew Persephone had made this herself. While myrtle flowers didn’t traditionally have a strong scent, if any, these flowers smelled so distinctly of her. She had told him once she could always recognize her flowers, and he was starting to be able to do that too. He was glad he needed to bow in order for Hera to place the wreath upon his head. It gave him a chance to recover from the intense wave of emotion that hit him as soon as he saw the wreath. 

“I’m also here to grab this” said Hera once the wreath was secure atop Hades’ head. She walked across the room to grab the _stephane_ , which Hades had placed on Persephone’s dresser. 

“How long until she’s ready?” asked Hecate, who was looking at her watch.

“Not long, Eros just needs to do her makeup and that won’t take long. You know she doesn’t like to wear much” said Hera before she slipped out the door. 

“Well in that case, I’m going to head downstairs and start plating food” said Hecate, heading out the door.

“I’ll be right behind you” Hades called to her. Before he left the bedroom he slipped into the closet to grab the rings. He had stored them on the top shelf on his side. While it was true he made their wedding rings yesterday while Persephone had been out shopping, the engagement ring he had had for months.

When he came downstairs he found Hecate in the kitchen pulling food out of the oven and placing it on trays to be taken outside. “What can I do to help?” he asked.

“Nothing” replied Hecate instantly, to Hades’ surprise. “It’s your wedding day, let me take care of this.” Her words made sense in theory, Hades felt uncomfortable just watching her work while he did nothing.

“You know I’m physically incapable of doing nothing while there’s work to be done” he said to her.

“Let me put it this way then” replied Hecate. “You can help by staying out of my way.” Hades scowled, but didn’t have a chance to reply before Hera came down the stairs. 

“She’s almost ready!” sang Hera, and Hades’ heart gave a leap of excitement. Persephone looked gorgeous no matter what she was wearing, but he was about to see her dressed like a bride, his bride, and he could barely contain himself. Hera went over to help Hecate with the food, and Hades took a seat in the living room, giving in to Hecate’s request. He looked longingly to the stairs, waiting for his love to come striding down them.

Suddenly all eight of his dogs came running down the stairs. As they ran past Hades, he could see each one of them wearing their black silk bow ties, except for little Pomelia, who was sporting her new diamond collar. Eros came running down the stairs next, and Hades stood up instinctively. The love god had changed now as well, wearing a pair of trousers that were cropped at the ankle (a style much too modern for Hades’ taste), a black velvet jacket, and a crisp light blue dress shirt. Eros stopped dead at the base of the stairs and pulled out his phone, and aimed it towards the top of the stairs. “Okay, go” said Eros, and the click-clack sound of high heels could be heard starting to descend the stairs. Hades moved closer so he could get a better view while Eros moved around so he could get better angles for pictures. Then finally, she came into view, and Hades’ heart stopped.

He had heard rumours of this dress already, Eros and Persephone gushing over at dinner the previous night, while doing their best to not give away any details, to maintain the mystery. They could have said anything, nothing could have prepared him for how stunning she looked in it. The intense royal blue made her pink skin glow even brighter than he even thought possible. Each step she took down the stairs allowed the fabric of the full skirt to swish and flow around her, which in turn allowed it to catch the light, revealing the tiny silver sparkles that adorned the dress. The deep, plunging neckline of the bodice revealed her perfectly round breasts, although they were obscured slightly by the long, saffron dyed veil that covered the entire top half of her body. That being said, the veil was sheer enough that it didn’t do much to hide anything. Hades could still see her wide, magenta eyes, her long flutter eyelashes, her impossibly full lips, pulled into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life. Her hair had been pulled back into an intricate up-do, although little curls had been left out to delicately frame her face. Hades was glad to see that the _stephane_ fit so perfectly atop her head, as if she had grown the petals herself. She was an absolute vision, and truly there was only one way to describe her. _Breathtaking_.

Eros moved out the way so that when Persephone reached the bottom of the stairs she could walk right up to Hades. Hades knew the de-veiling part of the ceremony came later, but all he wanted to do was rip away the veil, pull her into his arms, and kiss those beautiful lips. Instead he simply stared, entirely at a loss for words, imagining he had the dopiest smile plastered across his face. Now that she was close to him he could smile the intoxicating aroma of roses and honeysuckle that was distinctively hers. He noticed however that there weren't any actual flowers in her hair. As soon he thought that however, he heard a soft _floom_ , and little blue flowers appeared in her hair, tucked into the crevessases of her braided updo. 

“See? I knew that was going to happen” said Eros while a deep pink blush appeared on Persephone’s cheeks. Eros was still hanging around them, snapping pictures on his phone, but neither Hades nor Persephone paid any attention to him. In fact, to Hades, Persephone was the only person in the room.

“So Your Majesty, am I sufficient?” asked Persephone, a reference to an old joke between them that made Hades chuckle.

“Sufficient would be an insult” he replied. “More like breathtaking, ethereal, perfection, drop dead gorgeous, shall I go on?” Her blush got progressively deeper and her smile wider as he named adjectives. Gods, she was incredible. “And what about me, Your Majesty?” he asked, taking a step back from her and throwing out his arms so she could get a good look. “Would you say I am sufficient?”

“Your Majesty? I’m not a queen yet” she said.

“You are to me” he replied, earning him another deep blush from his bride. Once she recovered she adopted an expression of deep consideration, resting her pointer finger on her cheek as she regarded him. 

“Almost” she said finally, and then held out her hand. A glow, a fizz, and between her delicate fingers appeared a small, familiar, yellow flower. 

“Pomelia” he breathed. His throat began to tighten looking at the tiny flower, love and gratitude filling his heart. It must have been all over his face, because Persephone was smiling at him knowingly. She stepped close to him, her small hands reaching up to affix the flower to his lapel. Once she was done she took a step back, looking him up and down.

“Now you’re sufficient” she stated. “And by sufficient, I mean the most handsome being I’ve ever laid eyes on in my entire life.” Hades was sure he was blushing now as Persephone beamed at him. It was getting harder and harder not to pull her close, toss that veil away, and-

“Okay, we need to join the others outside before your husband-to-be ruins all my hard work” said Eros, snapping Hades out of his fantasy. Eros must have been able to sense his mood, but he had no shame in it, not today.

“I wouldn’t mind” said Persephone sensually, biting her lip and fluttering her eyelashes. It took all of Hades’ strength not to audibly groan.

“I know you wouldn’t, that’s part of the problem” said Eros, his tone unimpressed. “Let’s go!” he said, motioning towards the back door out to the garden. Hades turned to his side and held out his arm for Persephone, who gleefully took it. They followed Eros to the sliding glass door out to the deck, and stepped out into the cool Underworld air.

Hera and Hecate were already at the table across the yard, both of them standing and waiting for them. He had already seen the garden, but he was no less stunned by the sheer beauty of it. He would never cease to be in awe of Persephone’s power, and her ability to create life out of death, to create light in the darkest places. Hecate’s addition were tiny floating lights that danced all around the garden, like little fireflies made of magic. They covered the garden in an ethereal glow. The table they had set up outside was laden with flickering candles, beautiful flower centerpieces, and enough food and drink to keep them satisfied well into the night. 

Arm in arm, Hades and Persephone made their way across the deck and down the stairs to the lawn. As soon as they stepped off the last stair Persephone stopped dead in her tracks. Hades looked at her confused, until he looked down and saw that the heels on her shoes had sunk into the grass and she couldn’t move. Persephone smiled bashly, but Hades just smiled and swooped her up into his arms. As he carried her across the lawn to the banquet table he thought he was glad to finally have an appropriate excuse to hold her like this.

As Eros promised, their feast consisted of a delectable assortment of Greek classics, everything from roast lamb, to dolmades, to moussaka (which Hades was having a hard time believing was made vegetarian, it was so good), to flaky spanakopita. It was exceptionally amusing to watch Persephone eat with the veil still on, and Hades couldn’t resist teasing her about it. She had to lift it up slightly in order to bring the food to her mouth. Each time she did Hades had to quell the urge to lean over and kiss her. Eventually she caught on, taking more and more suggestive bites of her food, making eye contact with him as she did, her way of getting back at him for the teasing. All throughout dinner the drinks flowed; wine, champagne, and even some nectar that Hades had been saving for a special occasion. Hades was careful not to drink too much though, he didn’t want anything to cloud his memory of this day. Once dinner was finished, it was time for cake, a staple of any wedding, whether mortal or God. They passed around the cupcakes, indulging in the sweet treats. This time Hades helped out his bride, holding her veil for her so she could eat her cupcake without getting icing all over it, which she greatly appreciated. 

Eros had brought a bluetooth speaker outside with them so he could play music for Hades and Persephone to dance to. He had been so excited about the song he had chosen, making Hades a little bit nervous, simply out of habit. Persephone unbuckled her shoes and left them under the table before taking Hades hand to let him lead her to the open space on the lawn they had left specifically for this purpose. As Hades took Persephone’s hand and placed the other hand on her waist, he realized they had never danced together like this before. 

The song began to play. Hades had never heard it before. It had a slower tempo, soft and gentle, perfect for pulling Persephone close and just being with her. He listened to the lyrics as Persephone tucked her head into him, and was shocked at how perfect they were. It wasn’t the traditional first dance song, not gushing with love and meaningless platitudes. There was pain in song, as well as beauty. The right kind of bittersweetness that touched Hades heart in a way he wasn’t expecting. 

_Let me in the wall, you've built around  
And we can light a match and burn it down  
Let me hold your hand and dance 'round and 'round the flame  
In front of us  
Dust to dust_

It was true. Persephone had walked into his life and past every defence he had ever built in the last two thousand years. He had been more lonely then he had cared to admit, bore more scars than just the ones that covered his body, and had spent a lifetime building walls to protect himself. But he didn’t need them anymore, and Persephone had been the one to show him that. Even as the last notes of the song faded away, Hades and Persephone continued to hold each other, neither of them ready to let the other go.

“Time to go” said Hera. While she spoke softly, it was still a shock to hear her voice. In truth, Hades forgot anyone else was there other than the Goddess he was holding. When he looked over to the others he saw that they were all standing, and both Hecate and Eros were holding lit torches.

Hera started the procession, walking across the lawn, up the stairs to the porch, and standing at the already lit fire pit. Eros and Hecate followed her, lighting the way with the torches they held. Hades looked down at Persephone, who was smiling up at him with adoration in her eyes. 

“Ready?” she asked.

“More ready than I’ve been for anything in my whole life” he replied. She could see her lip between to quiver as if she were about to start crying, and Hades felt the familiar prickle behind his eyes that tears were on their way. They both took deep breaths, laced their fingers together, and walked up to the porch holding hands.

They took their place in front of Hera and the fire place, holding hands and facing each other. Hecate took her place behind Hades, and Eros took his place behind Persephone.

“Aidoneus Hades, Kore Persephone, you have made the long journey together to be bound in holy matrimony on this day” said Hera. As she spoke, an energy was raised around them, surrounding them, infusing the air with an ancient, vibrating power. “Today you come together to build a new household. May this union be blessed with fertility, and not just in the creation of new life, but the flourishing of your lives as you grow and change together, and to nurture and tend to the love that exists between you such that it grows beyond where you ever thought it could be. May this union be blessed with wealth, and not just the wealth of money, but in the prosperity of love, and the abundance of happiness such that it overflows.”

Hades felt a shower of tiny objects hit his head and shoulders, and he watched as Persephone experienced the same, Eros lifting the bowl containing the _katachysmata_ above her head and raining it down on her. She smiled and laughed as the mixture of dates, coins, dried fruits, and nuts poured over the two of them, and Hades couldn’t help but do the same. Once all the little pieces had fallen, bounced, and landed wherever they may be, Hera turned to Hades.

“Hades, you may now unveil your bride” she said. Hades nodded at her, and then dropped Persephone’s hands so he could pick up the edges of the delicate veil and lift it to uncover her beautiful face. She had a soft and delicate smile playing on her lips, and sparkle of joy in her eye. No matter how many times he saw her he couldn’t help but be struck with how incredibly stunning she was. Today, however, there seemed to be an extra glow about her, a glow he had been accused of having too. This is what love did to a person, what joy did, and he was enraptured with it. He took her hands again so they could continue with the ceremony.

“Aidoneus Hades, you have come before the Gods today to claim this woman as your bride” continued Hera. “Do you vow to cherish and love her, respect and honour her, protect and defend her, hold her above all others, from this day forward until the end of all things?”

“I do” said Hades. His voice was cracking with emotion, but he didn’t care. He could see tears beginning to roll down Persephone’s cheeks.

“Kore Persephone, you have come before the Gods today to claim this man as your husband” said Hera. “Do you vow to cherish and love him, respect and honour him, protect and defend him, hold him about all others, from this day forward until the end of all things?” Persephone took a deep breath, and Hades knew she was trying to fight off the tears so she could actually speak. Hades could feel his own tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I do” said Persephone, giving his hands a squeeze as she did. His tears were sliding down his chin, hers were dripping onto her breasts. 

“You may now exchange rings” said Hera. Over dinner, Hades had slipped Hecate and Eros the rings so they could be handed to Persephone and Hades at the appropriate time. They both held out their hands now, the rings in their open palms. Hades watched as Persephone’s eyes widened at seeing Hades’ wedding band in Eros’ hand. He took the two rings Hecate was holding out for him and smiled as Persephone slowly plucked the ring from Eros’ palm.

“Pretty” she breathed, turning the ring over, almost mesmerized by it. Hades couldn’t help but chuckle at how enamoured she was, and she hadn’t even seen her own rings yet. The thing was, Hades didn’t have a lot of time to craft these wedding bands, so they ended up being much simpler than he had originally imagined. Both the rings were simple, white gold bands, his of course being larger in width. He realized as he was making them that perhaps these simple rings that perhaps simple was perfect. After all, he was marrying Persephone, a woman who had never needed big and flashy, who took immense joy in life’s simple pleasures. He did want to add some gems to them, gems of his own creation, of course. On his he set a small pink tourmaline, and on hers, a small, dark blue tanzanite. 

Before the wedding bands though, Persephone deserved her engagement ring. This one, he had taken his time with. Also made of white gold, he had crafted the setting so it looked like it had been carved delicately from wood. The metal curved up and wrapped delicately around a pink diamond, holding it in place like a flower amongst vines. He held up the ring for her, and Persephone looked up, drawn by the sparkle of the ring from the light of the fire. Her eyes were still wide as she looked at it, her perfect lips forming a perfect little ‘oh’. Hades took her left hand in his and slipped the ring on her third finger, pleased that it fit perfectly. He heard her sniffle, and knew she was crying again. He looked down at her hand, placing the wedding band there next, knowing if he looked at her now he would lose it. Once her wedding band was in place, she took his left hand, and placed his wedding band in his finger. It was strange. Part of him expected it to feel foreign, but it felt as if it belonged there. He looked up at her, a huge smile stretched across her face. She was practically glowing.

Then all of a sudden the power that had been raised around them grew to a new height. There was a pressure in the air that was plabable, binding them to this place in space and time. There was a rushing in his ears, and he felt as if they were in the middle of a vortex.

“Let the vows you make today act as a bond that no being can sever” said Hera, who had to shout now to be heard over the roar of energy surrounding them. “As Goddess of Marriage, I have blessed this union. Let it stand strong from now until the end of days.” In a rush, the energy that had been raised around them cleared, having been released back into the universe. The pressure eased, and Hades realized he was breathing heavily, and so was Persephone. “You may now seal your union with a kiss.”

With their hands still clasped together, Hades pulled Persephone close as she flew up to meet his face. As soon as his lips met hers, Hades felt an explosion of joy. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her waist, pressing himself to her with an intense passion. He had been waiting to kiss her all day, but he had been waiting for _this_ kiss for 2000 years.

What broke them apart was the sound of clapping. Once they parted they saw that Hera, Hecate, and Eros were all applauding, just as guests would have at a wedding. All of them had tears in their eyes. Hades turned his attention back to Persephone, who had the biggest smile on her face, laughing and crying. He kissed her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, making her giggle even more. Eventually, she floated back down to the ground, her bare feet touching down on the deck. She kept her hands on him though, which he was perfectly happy with. If he had his way, she would never let him go.

“There is still one final part of the ceremony” said Hera, drawing everyone’s attention. “However, I believe the happy couple would much prefer if we took our leave for that part.” 

“Aw, you mean we don’t get to sit outside their door and yell dirty jokes while they do it?” complained Eros as they all went back inside. “But that’s my favourite part!” Hades rolled his eyes but let the joke slide. Nothing could touch the way he felt right now, not with his wife’s hands wrapped around his arm, clinging to him lovingly. His wife! Even thinking it filled him with joy.

Eros and Hecate headed upstairs to gather their things. When they returned, Hades and Persephone thanked all three of their friends for being a part of this day, and making it so incredible. After that, Hera, Eros, and Hecate all left, and Persephone turned to Hades with a sultry smile on her face.

“And now _husband_ ” she purred in a tone that was already bringing heat to Hades’ groin, “it’s time to take your wife to bed.”

***

Persephone was lying in bed, her eyes wide open and staring, listening to Hades’ slow steady breathing. She should be asleep right now, just like him. The day had been absolutely incredible. She couldn’t have imagined a better wedding day. That being said, it was still incredibly tiring. It takes a lot of energy to cry that much, even if they were tears of joy. Not to mention the _fantastic_ night she had just spent with her now husband. She should be exhausted, she should be spent, but instead she was staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, waiting for the sound of Hades’ soft snores to let her know that he was truly asleep. She had one more thing to do on this day, and she couldn’t sleep until it was done.

 _”Demeter is desperate right now”_ rang Hera’s voice in her head from their earlier conversation. _”She will do anything to get you back. She’s acting on pure emotion, pure instinct, and when she’s like there, you don’t have a shot in hell at reasoning with her.”_

Slowly, as not to wake Hades, Persephone slipped out of bed. She paused a moment once she stood up, looking over at sleeping god, making sure he hadn’t stirred. A snore let her know that he was still fast asleep, so she tiptoed around the scattered clothes and flower petals until she got to her dresser.

_”So what should I do?”_

_“Simple, you can’t give her a choice.”_

Persephone slowly pulled out an oversized sweater and a pair of leggings, dressing as quietly as she could. Once she was dressed, she slipped out of the bedroom and into the dark hallway.

_”I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”_

_”I can bind you to the man today, little butterfly, but only _you_ can bind yourself to the realm._

She tiptoed through the house, doing her best not to wake the dogs. The last thing she needed right now was any of the pack inadvertently waking Hades. She made it down the living room without encountering any of them, but of course Cerberus was guarding the sliding glass door. 

_”No, no, I know what you’re getting at, and Hades and I have already discussed it. The answer is no.”_

“I have to do this, baby boy” she said, stroking the top of Cerberus’ head. “It’s the only way.” He looked up at her with his big blue eyes, and then stepped aside from the door. Persephone opened the sliding glass door and headed out onto the deck. She held the door open for a second, and sure enough, Cerberus decided to come with her. She closed the door behind him and headed out into the backyard. 

_”I’m surprised you feel that way, to be honest.”_

She walked past the wedding table, still laden with decoration from before. 

_”Hades was adamant. He doesn’t want me to be forced to stay here, he would never take a choice away from me._

She walked past the magnificent garden she had grown, the perfect backdrop for their perfect day. 

_”This _is_ your choice, whether he likes it or not… but if that’s the way he feels about it, maybe it’s best we keep him out of this little scheme”_

She walked far out into the property until she found what she was looking for, a collection of short trees, their branches growing wide and full. The abundance of pointed green leaves gave them an almost bush like appearance. Ripe, bright red fruit hung from the branches, begging to be picked. 

_”We just promised each other no secrets! Literally yesterday!”_

Persephone closed her hand around one of the fruits and pulled it from the tree. She tore into the fruit with her bare hand, revealing the collection of delectable looking seeds underneath the rough exterior. Just like in her dream, dark red juice ran down her arm. 

_”That’s up to you, I’m only making a suggestion. I mean, it’s not like it will remain secret for very long.”_

Persephone dug back into the fruit, pulling out one of the tiny seeds. She held it between her fingers, staring at it for a moment, fascinated at how something so small could change so much. 

_”Besides, little butterfly…”_

Persephone popped the seed into her mouth, the intense flavour coating her tongue, instantly making her hunger for more. She thought it better to eat a few anyhow, just to be safe. 

_”Don’t you think he’d rather have his wife?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I get lost in too much research? Maybe....
> 
> More fun facts!
> 
> When the bride and groom consummated their marriage, members of the wedding party often sat vigil outside their door for the night. A friend of the groom was their to make sure neither the bride or groom escaped, and friends of the bride would sing outside the door all night. Really, this was an excuse to do exactly what Eros wanted, yell dirty jokes.
> 
> The wedding procession would happen through the streets of town, likely at night due to the presence of torches in vase paintings. Some vases have the bride and groom in a chariot, others have them on foot.
> 
> Fertility of both the bride and groom was a huge part of the wedding ceremony, and since lineage was exceptionally important in ancient Greek culture, those convicted of adultery were not permitted at weddings (which is think is hilarious knowing Hera). I'll probably work this in when I get to H and P's public wedding, as I plan on writing that, but I thought it was too good not to share.


End file.
